


Part 2: The Trial

by WayfinderGal



Series: Hearts of Light and Darkness [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Cliffhangers, Comedy, Drama, F/F, F/M, Game: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Spoilers, Kingdom Hearts References, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 07:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayfinderGal/pseuds/WayfinderGal
Summary: Aqua, Akari, Stellae, Terra, and Ventus finally have their long-awaited reunion. But after a heated discussion, the five of them separated on bad terms and traveled their separate paths. Meanwhile, Vanitas still has Kira held hostage with no intention of letting her leave his sight. And Ezra decides to stick by Terra for longer, his reasons coming to light. Will the friends finally settle their differences and make up? Or will the secrets of the past hinder their unbreakable connection?
Relationships: Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Terra (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Terra (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Male Character(s), Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Hearts of Light and Darkness [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669273





	1. A Reunion That Went Horribly Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! WayfinderGal here, welcoming you to Part 2 of this series!
> 
> Things are getting rather interesting for everyone... And there's still more worlds to come before the final showdown!
> 
> Anyways... Apart from the Radiant Garden Arc, there will most likely be two chapters posted every few days:) (maybe even sooner? idk) And there WILL be a Part 3 (I can't fit the rest of the Birth by Sleep Arc in just one work:'( Too many scenes... Too many OC pairings I want to do:D )
> 
> Happy reading! And may your heart be your guiding key<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Akari’s POV**

After Mickey's shard lit up, we were teleported to the Lanes Between. And before our eyes was a world that radiated with light.

“It’s so bright,” I said, amazed at the sight.

“Yeah,” I heard Ven say.

We then decided to land in this world. Once we landed, we looked around the area. It appeared to be a town square with old buildings, and many flower beds and trees. There was also an old duck with a cane walking around. 

A moment later, I felt a familiar presence in this world and looked to the side. It’s Mickey!

“Ven, look,” I said, pointing to where Mickey was heading.

"Mickey?" Ven asked. He then turned to me. “C’mon, let’s go find him!”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

We ran towards the town's entrance. As we ran, I kept on feeling the world's light… It felt nice… Completely different from that world we were in.

* * *

We found a large flight of stairs after a while. After running to the top, we saw some castle doors. There were two guards, one with long black hair and another one with short and curly ginger hair.

Reaching the doors, the two guards held out their weapons and blocked our path.

"Hold on," the black-haired guard said.

"The castle is presently closed," the other guard added.

"But somebody just came this way! He's a friend of ours," Ven explained.

The two guards looked at each other.

"We aren't aware of any visitors," the black-haired guard said. "Now run along home, kids, before the monsters get you."

"I coulda sworn it was him," I said, looking at Ven.

We were turning to leave, when all of a sudden, a large Unversed appeared at the top of the stairs.

"They're here!" The ginger-haired guard said.

"Radiant Garden shall not fall under the likes of you," the other guard said.

The two guards started walking towards the Unversed. Ven and I looked at each other. We knew what to do.

We started running towards the Unversed, passing the guards.

"Leave this to us!" Ven told them.

"Stop!" The ginger-haired guard exclaimed.

"But you're just children!" The black-haired guard also exclaimed.

We kept on running, ignoring their shouts. The Unversed was escaping, so we had to go down the stairs quickly and run after it.

* * *

**Terra’s POV**

I managed to land in one of Radiant Garden’s flower fields. Walking around, I reached what seemed to be a town square. It wasn’t until seconds later that I found some familiar enemies. I summoned my keyblade. “Unversed! This can only mean Master Xehanort was right.”

I began to fight them quickly, wanting to get things over with and to continue on my search for Vanitas. Just as the last Unversed was defeated, I dismissed my keyblade and started to look around.

Looking back, I noticed someone going down a path filled with houses. Master Xehanort? “What’s Master Xehanort doing here?”

He must be here for a reason… Maybe.... “Maybe he found something out.”

Seeing Master Xehanort walk away, I decided to follow him.

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

After running for some time, we made it to the town square. But it looked like the Unversed encountered someone in its path!

"Ach! How dare ye?! Back off, ye fiend!" We heard someone say.

The Unversed was trying to attack… the elderly duck from before?

"Ye'll not be gettin' my money!"

"Look out," Ven said, throwing his keyblade at the Unversed while I followed suit. The enemy started to flee from the area.

We were gonna keep on chasing it but we were stopped by the elderly duck. "Hold on… Wait a moment, laddies. Don’t I even get a chance to repay ye?" He said.

"Oh, you don’t have to," Ven said, trying to leave.

"Now, just hold yer horses. I dinna mean me fortune. Maybe a wee bit o' gold, or a small token of…"

"Well, could ya make it fast?" Ven asked, a bit rushed.

“We’re in a bit of a hurry,” I added.

"I know— I've just the thing in me hat!"

The duck took off his hat and laughed. "C'mere."

We both walked over to him and bent down. The duck covered his bill with his hat, as if he had some sort of secret. "Ye can tell me, lads. You two came here from another world, didn’t ye?"

Both of us gasped. How did he know?!

"Dinna worry," the duck continued. "Me bill is sealed. Yer secret's safe with me. I'll not be askin' ye any awkward questions. Ye see, 'tis the same with me. I asked a wizard named Merlin to bring me here from another world. After all, adventure is the mother of industry!"

Ven was getting impatient. "Great! That all?" 

"Ach, but I'm holding ye up, lad," the duck laughed a bit. "Here. These are lifetime passes to Disney Town."

The duck pulled out seven tickets. "Ye'll have buckets o' fun there, or my name is not Scrooge McDuck. There y’are— enough for you, your friend here, three grown-ups, and two more friends just in case."

Ven took the tickets and we looked at them. Never expected this to happen! Anyways, we need to find that Unversed! Ven put away the tickets and we kept on running, trying to reach the Unversed.

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

We managed to find Terra entering a world but somehow he disappeared. The town square that we arrived in only had an elderly duck walking around.

“Excuse me. I’m terribly sorry to bother you, sir,” Aqua said to the duck.

“Ach, what a well-mannered lass ye are. I’d be pleased as punch to help ye, if I can,” the elderly duck said.

“We’re looking for a boy who’s not from around here,” I said, kneeling down to meet his gaze. 

Aqua followed suit. “Have you seen him by any chance?”

“Hmm, I think I know just who you’re talking about. He scampered off toward yon castle in a right hurry,” the duck said.

“Thank you so much,” Aqua said.

“Yes, thank you,” I also said.

The elderly duck then walked away.

“Terra… I hope you’re still there,” Aqua said.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky?” I said to her, standing up again.

“Yeah, maybe,” Aqua said.

We then headed towards the castle at a fast pace.

* * *

Reaching the castle area, we ran up the steps. We then heard a little girl screaming and running away from some Unversed.

“No!” I said, alarmed.

“Run!” Aqua said right after, alarmed as well.

The little girl ran but was stopped by a wall. The Unversed tried to attack her but she managed to escape the attack. She then ran towards Aqua and me. Hiding behind Aqua in fear, she grabs Aqua’s keyblade with her free hand, since she was holding some flowers with the other.

My eyes widen. “I can feel the light… We can’t fight like this, Aqua! She could get hurt.”

An Unversed then jumped towards us, but suddenly, a mouse jumped in and defeated it. Wait, he has a keyblade?

“Hurry! Ya gotta get that girl to someplace that’s safe,” the mouse said to us.

“Who are you? Why do you have a keyblade?” Aqua asked.

“I’ll tell ya later. Right now, we gotta stop these things!” The mouse said.

Aqua and I looked at each other and nodded. I picked up the little girl and took her down the stairs. I then placed her down.

“Let’s wait here, okay? They’ll take care of this quickly,” I said, smiling. I didn’t want her to feel scared, so this is the best I can think of.

The little girl nodded, smiling a bit.

After waiting a bit, I heard it tone down over where the fight was happening. I smiled.

“Looks like we’re good now. C’mon,” I said.

We walked over to where Aqua and the mouse were.

“Thank you. My name is Aqua,” Aqua said to the mouse and little girl as she kneeled down to them.

“And I’m Stellae,” I added, kneeling down next to her. “We train under Master Eraqus.”

“And I’m Mickey,” the mouse told us. “I used to be Yen Sid’s apprentice. I came back to him for some more training.”

“I sense light within this girl… You think that’s why they attacked her?” I said, concerned.

“Yep, I think ya might be absolutely right. If ya ask me, she must be somebody pretty extraordinary,” Mickey said.

I saw the little girl beam with a sweet smile. She’s so adorable!

“Yes,” Aqua continued. “Based on what Stellae is saying, I’m quite certain she’s someone we’re supposed to protect.”

“Let’s join forces!” Mickey said, but before he could say anything else, his pocket began to glow. “Oh no, not now!”

A blinding light began to shine brightly.

“I’ll be okay!” Mickey said.

He then flew off in a flash of light. “See ya real soon!”

We watched how Mickey disappeared into the sky.

“Here!” The little girl said, extending flowers to both of us.

“Are these for us?” Aqua asked.

The little girl nodded. “I picked you two some flowers. Thank you for saving me.”

We took the flowers. She’s such a sweetheart!

“Oh, they’re lovely,” Aqua said, smiling.

“You’re so sweet,” I added on, also smiling.

“My name’s Kairi. Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Aqua.”

“And I’m Stellae. Kairi, about that light—“

“Kairi!” We heard someone say. There was an elderly woman at the top of the stairs.

“Oh! Grandma!” Kairi said.

“Wait, Kairi, just a minute…” Aqua said, before touching the charm on Kairi’s necklace. The necklace began to glow dimly.

“I just cast a magic spell on you. One day when you’re in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe,” Aqua said to her.

Kairi then smiled. “Thanks!”

She then ran off to her grandmother.

“There you are. It’s time to go,” the grandmother said.

“‘Kay! Oh!” Kairi said, but then looked over to us and waved. “Bye!”

We waved back at her. The two then walked down the stairs.

“Kairi… Something tells me we didn’t run into her by accident,” I said, admiring the flowers she collected for us.

“You may be right,” Aqua told me as she did the same.

Suddenly, a flying Unversed passed by. My eyes widened.

“Unversed!” I said.

“It never ends,” Aqua said.

We then ran down the stairs and past the gate. Reaching the next area, we saw a metal door that was broken up in the distance. Probably because of the Unversed.

“Over there!” Aqua said.

“Right!” I said, nodding.

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

We ran through the town and reached a place that had a large area. It looked like part of a factory.

As we neared the center, I couldn't believe my eyes! It was Terra, Aqua, and Stellae!

"Ven! Akari!" The three of them shouted.

"Terra! Aqua! Stellae!” Ven and I shouted as well.

When the five of us were finally at the center, the Unversed that we were following merged with two other ones, creating a massive Unversed. We summoned our keyblades, knowing that it was going to be a huge fight.

* * *

The five of us, after a difficult battle, managed to give the Unversed five final blows. After these hits, the Unversed faded away.

"Got 'im," Terra said.

"We make a good team," Aqua commented.

I nodded. “Yep!"

“No doubt,” Stellae said.

"Sure do. Oh yeah!" Ven said.

He pulled out the seven tickets that Scrooge gave us earlier. "We got you these tickets.”

“For what?” Terra asked.

“Lifetime passes to Disney Town," I answered.

He gave one ticket to each of them. Ven gave me two, smiling. "One's for Kira when you see her."

I happily accepted the tickets. Strange… Why do I feel Kira's presence around here? I’ve also felt her presence in the other worlds that we’ve been to as well… Isn’t she back home?

“And we have another one but…” Ven started to say.

But Terra surprisingly spoke up. “Mind if I take it off your hands? I may have someone in mind.”

“Not at all,” Ven said, looking at me as I nodded. Looking back at him, he gave Terra the ticket.

“The kind duck also said to bring three grown-ups,” I confessed.

“Yeah…” Ven said, a bit embarrassed.

"You mean us?" Aqua asked. She, Terra, and Stellae laughed a bit.

"Listen to us, Ven, Akari…” Stellae started saying.

“We need to get you home— " Aqua continued.

"It's okay, Aqua, Stellae. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never bad-mouth Terra or kidnap Akari again."

Terra gasped and grabbed Ven by the shoulder. He looked at both of us. "You two saw the boy in the mask?" He asked, alarmed.

"Uh… Y-Yes?" We both said, not sure what was going on.

"Vanitas… Ven. Akari. Let Aqua and Stellae take you two home."

"No way. I wanna go with you guys." Ven complained.

"Yeah c’mon, Terra," I added.

"The two of you can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you two to get hurt," Terra said.

"And what is this dangerous task Terra?” Aqua said, confused.

“It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do," Stellae added.

"It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness," Terra said.

"I'm not so sure," Aqua said, not trusting Terra. "I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done. You shouldn’t put yourself so close to the darkness.”

“The darkness?” Stellae said, looking at Aqua in disbelief. “Could that be the reason for all the mishaps across the different worlds we’ve visited?”

“I’m certain,” Aqua answered, not looking away from Terra.

"Listen to yourselves, Aqua, Stellae. Terra would never—" Ven started, but the three of them ignored him.

"You mean you’ve both been spying on me? Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?" Terra asked, a bit mad.

"He was only—" Aqua started, but all was silent after that.

Stellae looked down, not wanting to look at Terra in the eyes.

After a moment, I started to speak. “Aqua… Stellae…”

"I get it," Terra said, turning towards the area's exit, wanting to leave.

“What?” Stellae said.

"Terra!" Ven said.

He stopped briefly. "Just stay put!”

“I'm on my own now, all right?" Terra continued, before walking away.

"Terra, please! Listen! The Master has no reason to distrust you, really!” Aqua said, trying to see if her words could bring him back.

“He was just worried, Terra. Can’t you understand that?” Stellae added, trying to help Aqua.

"You're awful, Aqua,” Ven said to her. “You, too, Stellae.”

Hate to say it, but Ven's right. Aqua and Stellae have only been focused on their orders. What about us? We're her friends... aren't we?

Stellae then looked at Aqua. “Aqua… Let me go talk to him. Maybe I can make things better?”

“… Go,” Aqua said, a bit down.

Stellae then ran off in the same direction as Terra.

"So now both of you know the truth. But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too," Aqua said.

"Were you two also "ordered" to take us home?” I said, not believing that this was happening.

She didn’t say anything.

Ven and I were hurt. I could tell by Ven's face that this was unbelievable. And my face must be like that as well. Why Aqua? Stellae? Just… why? All because of orders… Not because of friendship? Because she cared? I don't even know anymore...

"Aqua..." Ven started. "Now that you and Stellae are Keyblade Masters, you've both let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra."

Ven looked at me. I looked back, but then looked at Aqua. I looked at Ven again and nodded. "Same here. Aqua, do you and Stellae just follow orders now? Don't you even care or trust us anymore?"

I didn’t hear her answer. Ven and I ran off towards the exit, trying to catch up to Terra. I felt that I was about to cry, but I held it in. Why did it end up like this? Everybody’s literally drifting apart…

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

I saw my sister leave with Ven. What just happened? I heard everything but… It doesn’t make any sense.

"Hope you enjoyed your little reunion," Vanitas said. He was right behind me. Yep, no escape.

"Not the reunion I was expecting, you know," I said, turning to him. We were on top of a tall building that was close to where all the action was happening. No one could see where we were.

And for sure, I could have sworn that Akari sensed something. She makes this face every time she senses a familiar presence that she can't see. Why didn’t she try to find me?! Well… She might think I'm still at home… And besides, I think it's better that she doesn't find me. With Vanitas here, she could get seriously hurt. It's better off this way…

"You think I care? I just wanted to show you their faces before I slaughter them," he said, walking over and grabbing me by the wrist.

I turned towards him, not letting my fear take over. "Don't hurt them.”

"Oh, and what happened to that little feisty chick I saw a while ago?" Vanitas said, inching his masked face towards my unmasked one and stopping right before his mask hit my nose.

"Unlike you, I know when to shut up."

"Hmm good. You know what's at risk here." He moved his face away.

Vanitas opened a dark portal. "Time to get our first target."

He turned around, letting me go. 

"Hold on, Vanitas. I thought you said that you weren't gonna hurt anyone!"

"Calm yourself, will ya? So annoying… Can't I have a little fun? I'm not gonna kill anyone."

"You better not," I said, crossing my arms.

"Oh so you WANT me to kill someone?"

I stayed silent. One day, Vanitas… One day…

"Good. Let's go," he said. We went into the portal. Hopefully he won't do anything drastic. I just hope…

* * *

**Terra’s POV**

I couldn’t believe what I just heard. Aqua and Stellae being told to look after me… What the heck was Master Eraqus thinking? I thought he could trust me!

...No matter. I’ll handle things on my own for now, and Master Xehanort will guide me as seen fit. He’s sounded quite honest with me before, and I believe him... I think he’s the only person I can trust right now.

But now that I think about it… What about Ezra? Should I not trust him after all? He seemed pretty certain about Master Xehanort’s behavior… But why? If I really want to trust him, I need to know what’s his backstory with Xehanort. It’s the only way.

Going down some steps, I encountered a man that, for some reason, told me that he had Master Xehanort captive over at the Outer Gardens. I found it hard to believe that Master Xehanort was captured by a thug like him. But who knows? It doesn’t hurt to check.

When I reached the Outer Gardens, I entered a structure that originated from the central fountain in the area. And descending down some steps, I reached an open area with railings. I couldn’t find Xehanort anywhere. But then I sensed someone behind me and looked up, shock evident on my face. “Master Xehanort!”

He was chained up to a metal pole that was on a higher platform.

Suddenly, the man from before appeared from the entrance. So he was right!

“The old coot certainly knows how to take punishment. Just like I know how to deal it out.”

“You monster!” I said, summoning my keyblade. “What are you after?”

“That thing right there. It’s called the keyblade, isn’t it?” The man said, pointing at my keyblade as he approached me with some sort of gun in his hand. “Yep, it seems like these days everybody’s got one of those… even grandpa there. When I nabbed him, he told me all about it— what a weapon like that can do. How could I not want one?”

“Well, you’ll find they’re picky about their owners.”

“Ha, if I heard the old guy right, you’re what they call Keyblade Master material. So if I defeat you, that makes me the real keyslinger, if you catch my drift.”

He then threw his gun in the air and caught it swiftly again, pointing it at me. “Not the most polite way to go about it… but what can you do?”

I started to run towards him but he stopped me. “Ah-ah, one more step and the coot goes boom. You think I’m gonna fight fair? As if! That key’s too powerful for us to go mano a mano.”

We then began to fight, him shooting projectiles at me while I blocked them continuously. But the fight didn’t last long, considering that one of the projectiles hit my keyblade a bit too hard and sent me flying backwards.

“Hmph. For a Keyblade Master, you’re not very— what’s the word?— good,” the man said, not too amused.

“What are you doing, Terra? Fight!” I could hear Master Xehanort say.

“But Master, you’ll—” I said, not wanting him to get hurt.

“Never mind me! You must fight! You can’t let this ruffian win. Think of your Master, Eraqus— the shame he and your fellow pupils would be forced to bear! Use the keyblade.”

I then prepared a battle stance, feeling the blood inside me boil.

“Pfft, so much for the bluff,” the man said, before our fight began once again. Only this time, I decided to land some hits on him. But one of the hits became powerful dark magic and hit him square on the face. The force of the hit even made him fall on his back. He was covering his right eye as he lifted himself up, shocked to see another magic attack. However, that attack was directed towards Master Xehanort’s chains, loosening them.

While this happened, the man decided to stand up. But the pain on his right eye was too much to bear, making him kneel down due to the pain. Looking up at me again with a glare, he jumped away to escape.

“This power…” I said, my eyes widening. I could sense the darkness’s power welling up inside of me.

Just then, I saw Master Xehanort walking towards me. Looks like he came down from the upper platform.

“Well done, Terra,” Master Xehanort congratulated. “You have taken yet another step forward.”

“But I was consumed by anger… hatred. That was the power of darkness.”

“Darkness that you channeled.”

“No… I succumbed to it.” I then thought back to what happened in that first world. Maybe… the darkness inside of me really was out of my control? And that sorceress only encouraged my dark urges? Maybe Ezra gave me too much hope about this… wanting me to believe that my heart was truly strong...

I looked down. “Just like when I stole Princess Aurora’s heart of light. I can never return home now. I’m a failure.”

“Then don’t. You could be my pupil.”

I gasped, looking over to Master Xehanort. Does he really mean that?

“Master Eraqus, you see, is so afraid of darkness that he too has succumbed— not to darkness, but to light. It shines so bright, he forgets that light begets darkness. And Aqua, Ventus, and Stellae, their lights shine too bright.”

He then pointed to where my heart was. “It is only natural that they cast shadows on your heart. I could even say the same for Kira, since she shows the same potential as you.”

He looked down in frustration as he slowly walked towards the end of the platform. “Eraqus… He’s such a fool! Light and darkness, they are a balance— one that must always be maintained. Terra… you are the one who shows the true Mark of Mastery, but he refuses to see it.”

“And I know why,” Master Xehanort continued, before facing me once again and grabbing hold of one of my hands. “It is because he fears you. Join me. You and I can do the worlds much greater good, by wielding light and darkness in equal shares.”

“Master Xehanort…”

Master Xehanort just nodded, an understanding smile on his face. He then started to walk away from me. “See more worlds. Seek out the darkness that upsets the balance. Find Vanitas. And bring an end to him…”

He then stole a glance at me. “Master Terra.”

I gasped at the name. Master Xehanort… acknowledges me as a master? I shook my head, not wanting to look so shocked. Standing up straight and with a hand where my heart is, I bowed slightly at him. Master Xehanort then began to leave the area.

Master Xehanort… I promise to put an end to him and the darkness that upsets the balance. As for Ezra… I may need to reconsider trusting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no... That didn't go as expected:( How did it become like this??
> 
> *Sighs* Oh well, hopefully next chapter does something in their favors...
> 
> Stay tuned!


	2. Unbelievable Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Stellae’s POV**

“Terra!” I said, running towards him.

I had found him in a garden that was passing the town square. He seemed to be emerging from some fountain structure.

After a few seconds, I managed to reach him. “Thank goodness I caught you in time…”

“Stellae…” He said, avoiding eye contact with me.

“Listen, Terra, the Master deeply cares about you. I might be his daughter, but he treats you with the same care as Aqua, Ventus, Akari, Kira, and me.”

I looked down. “He sees you as his own son… Of course he’s going to worry about you. What parent wouldn’t worry about their children?”

“It just bothers me that he did this behind my back,” Terra said, making eye contact with me.

“I understand, but try to see this from his perspective,” I said, using my usual calm yet cool tone. “Let’s say he sees possible harm that might happen to you. A parent’s instinct is to protect their children from harm, no matter what the cost. He didn’t mean to offend you by trying to protect you. He was just being a caring dad.”

“Even so…” Terra said. “It made me feel that he didn't trust me to leave home.”

I sighed. I swear… He could be as stiff as a rock when people try to convince him of things sometimes. “Terra, can’t you just forgive the master and move on? Stating facts again and again is going to make this a never-ending loop.”

“Look, I see what you mean but… Just give me some time,” he said.

I put my hands on my hips, smiling a bit to see if I could lighten the mood a bit. “Okay, but be quick about it. Alright? You can’t be mad at my father forever. He loves you too much, silly.”

He laughed a bit. “Alright, I’ll try.”

I laughed a bit, too. “I swear, I feel that he loves you more than me sometimes. Am I competing against you for favorite child or something?”

Terra laughed even more. “Well, if you put it like that, we might be going at it neck ’n neck.”

We both laughed for a bit, before silence took over again.

“It’s actually quite odd…” Terra commented. “The Master can see us all as sons and daughters, and we can see him as our father. But when it comes to us seeing each other as siblings… I feel that some of us don’t see each other like that.”

“You mean like Akari and Ven? I swear, those two should just get together already. They’re too adorable for their own good!”

“Yeah, I completely agree,” he said, smiling.

Terra then locked eyes with me. “But what if I were to say that they’re not the only ones who think that way?”

“What are you—“ I started saying, but got hushed by Terra trying to lean in. I then covered his lips with my hands.

I feel my face going red and my nerves going haywire due to the realization. So that’s why he was acting so odd… Looks like I was on point. I had a feeling that he’d feel like this but… I hoped that I was wrong.

“T-This is kinda sudden, Terra,” I said, averting my gaze from him.

“I know, but—“

“I need to go back to Aqua, she’s probably waiting for me,” I said, turning to leave. I need to escape. I don’t want to be here right now.

“Wait!” Terra said, grabbing my arm, making flinch at the touch. “At least think about it. Please?”

I shook my arm free from his grasp. “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now. I’ll catch you later.”

I then began to walk back to the town square.

“Stellae…” I could hear Terra say, sounding a bit down.

Me going to him and saying that everything’s going to be okay was just going to defeat the purpose of what I actually felt. I guess… you could say that I feel shocked and betrayed? I saw him as my brother and I thought he saw me as his sister… Looks like that’s not the case. And I hate the stars for being right about it. The way he was looking at me made me want to distance myself from him, since I felt uncomfortable and all. And kissing me out of the blue like that… What was he thinking?

* * *

**Terra’s POV**

I felt my heart tighten as I sighed. I expected anything from this but… This really hurts.

“Seems like things didn’t go as planned?” I heard a voice say.

Looking back, I saw Ezra casually sitting on top of the fountain’s entrance.

“You saw?” I asked, bewildered.

“Of course not, I’m sensible enough to know when someone needs privacy,” Ezra said calmly, before jumping down from the fountain and walking towards me. Reaching me, he crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. “You just look disappointed.”

“... I tried to be subtle about my confession, hoping she would catch on. And she did, but… She looked uncomfortable. Seems like we’re not on the same page after all.”

“I see,” Ezra said, but then straightened his head. “Wait, don’t tell me you tried something...”

“I did. I thought actions could speak louder than words. But in the end I didn’t follow through… She stopped me before I had the chance.”

“Gotta say, never expected you to be this bold…” Ezra said, looking to the side. He then looked at me, his gaze unwavering. “Hope you don’t mind me asking but… How did things end up like this?”

“Well… We were talking about everyone’s connection as a family. And how Ven and Akari seemed more than siblings.”

“... And that’s where you took your chance to confess and almost kiss her?”

“Pretty much,” I said as I scratched the back of my head, a bit embarrassed. “Seemed like a good window.”

“And an abrupt one at that,” Ezra just sighed. “My advice: you should take things slower. Set the mood just right. And not let the heat of the moment control you. Especially when confessing to a dear friend who you’ve known for a long time. Even though the shock will be the same, the recovery time depends on what happened during the confession. Right now, you confessed and almost kissed her. And based on what you’re telling me, she’s gonna need some time and space.” 

“I figured as much,” I said. I couldn’t help but frown.

“But,” Ezra said, a soft smile on his face, “this won’t last forever. Whenever she feels ready, she’ll approach you again to talk about this. And if what you said before is true, your strong bond will overcome this trial. You ARE friends, after all.”

I chuckled lightly. “Why do I feel like you got this advice from one of your books?”

“You noticed?” Ezra laughed slightly.

Ezra and I both laughed at the discovery. After a while, Ezra stopped laughing, a smirk on his face. “Not gonna lie, books are quite handy at times. I could even show you a thing or two about romance right now... if you let me.”

I stopped laughing as well, giving him a smirk of my own. “I’d like to see you try. It’s not easy for someone to sweep me off my feet.”

“We’ll see about that,” Ezra said, uncrossing his arms and taking a few steps towards me. I then felt something soft touching my right hand. Huh?

Looking down, I noticed Ezra’s fingertips had gently moved to touch the front of my fingertips slowly, before intertwining our hands together.

I then looked up slightly, noticing a pair of purple eyes gazing at me. I then realized something out of the blue: Ezra is almost as tall as me, but not by a lot. I’ve never noticed this before, but considering how the distance between us was less, I couldn’t help the comparison.

“You know…” Ezra trailed off. “If I could control space, I’d love to keep our hands intertwined like this.”

He slowly raised his free hand and gently placed it on my left cheek. “And if I could stop time right now, I’d let this moment last forever.”

“Ezra?” I couldn’t help but mutter. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

He smiled sweetly as he cocked his head slightly to the side. “Pardon me for my selfishness, it’s just that I’ve never held the universe in my hands before.”

After staring at his eyes for a few moments, I couldn’t help but look away.

A few seconds later, Ezra let go of my hand and cheek and took a few steps back, his hands on his back. “And that’s one way to sweep someone off their feet.”

I was still in shock, feeling my warm face with one of my hands. “I-I’m surprised you’re able to do that.”

“Didn’t I say I wasn’t a ladies man?”

“You did but… Didn’t you say it was because of your books?”

Ezra nodded. “True, but that’s only part of the reason. The thing is: women and I just don’t click. Can’t help it.”

It finally dawned on me. “Oh! So… that’s what you meant? ”

“Yeah,” Ezra said in a serious tone. But then smirked a bit. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to cross a line with you or anything. I just wanted to give you some pointers that can help you. Works well with anyone, as far as I can tell.”

“No kidding,” I said, feeling my heart slow down. “I’ll keep these pointers in mind.”

“Very well, then,” Ezra said, a smile on his face.

He then placed a hand to his chin. “On a more serious note: I found out a thing or two about that young girl… Turns out you know her very well. And you just saw her sister not too long ago.”

I nodded. “It’s Kira… And Master Xehanort mentioned something about her too. About her having the same potential as me. But why is that?” I asked.

“Maybe because of the darkness in her heart… I gotta say, it’s concerning to see Xehanort looking for hearts with dark potential in them...”

“About that, Ezra: I met with Master Xehanort not too long ago and thought… maybe it's okay to trust him? He wants what's best for me and believes in me.”

“So you believe you can trust him?” Ezra said in a questioning tone.

“I do,” I answered, turning my back on him. “Listen, you’re a great guy, Ezra, and I’d like to believe what you’re saying about him but… I feel that he’d never lie to me. And your side of the story doesn’t seem to add up to his...”

I then began to walk away from him. “So far, I know that Master Xehanort wants to maintain the balance of light and darkness… And wants to eliminate anyone who threatens the balance.”

“You mean he wants to eliminate his “accident”?”

I gasped, stopping in my tracks and turning to him again. “How do you—?”

“Terra, I was there,” Ezra said, a bit of anger in his voice. “I was even there when Xehanort was held “captive” and called you Master.”

He clenched his fist. “It angers me that he’s constantly feeding you lies just so that he can get on your good side.”

“Master Xehanort is not a liar,” I argued. “What he told me is the truth.”

“His words are anything but the truth!”

“How can you be so sure?” I was enraged. Master Xehanort is an honest man! I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

“Because, unlike you, I witnessed him willingly extracting Vanitas from Ventus. I was there!”

“Then were you hiding on the sidelines when that happened?” I questioned him.

“Of course not!”

“Then why didn’t Master Xehanort mention you?”

“That’s because he dismisses my existence!” Ezra confessed. “I’m nothing but lost potential in his eyes. A disgrace that doesn’t deserve his remembrance.”

I felt my eyes widen. I didn’t expect him to respond. And definitely not like that. He usually has this cool air around him… I’ve never seen him show such raw emotions before.

Ezra sighed in frustration. “Since you believe actions speak louder than words, I want you to do something for me. Come closer.”

I hesitated for a moment, but then shook my head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Ezra then summoned his keyblade, jabbed it forcefully into the rock tiles, and left it there. He then crossed his arms, a serious expression on his face. “I’d never harm or trick you. And it hurts me to think that you’re even considering those possibilities.”

I felt my heart tighten. He’s helped me defeat the Unversed ever since we’ve met and we’ve gotten along okay. And he’s never tried to hurt me before either. But after hearing Master Xehanort out, I feel like I need to be more careful around Ezra. I’m sure of that, but… Maybe I should hear him out?

I then sighed, walking over to where he was. Once I was a few feet apart from him, he extended his hands to me, his palms facing upwards. “Give me your hands. I want you to see something.”

“What?” I was confused. See what?

Ezra remained silent, waiting for me to move my hands. His gaze was telling me that I’d understand once I did as he said.

I made up my mind and placed my hands on his palms.

A flash of a memory then came to mind. And I was aware it wasn’t mine.

* * *

_It was as if I was seeing the memory in the eyes of someone else. And when I noticed the silver hair covering up part of one of the eyes that I was seeing through, I could immediately tell it was Ezra witnessing this memory. And I could feel his body as if it was my own, though I had no power to control it._

_It was the same barren land where I met Master Xehanort earlier. Only this time, Master Xehanort was beside “me”, while we looked down from a cliff. I couldn’t believe my eyes: It was Ven! He was surrounded by these strange creatures… They didn’t look like the Unversed though._

_“Please don’t do this Master,” Ven pleaded. “ I’m not strong enough.”_

_“No. It is because you are trying to hold it in,” Master Xehanort exhorted. “Let the dark impulses waken in the pit of your heart. Release them, here and now! Sharpen your fear into rage! You must! If you do not let the storm within you run its course. It will wipe you from the face of the world, make no mistake!”_

_Ven just tried to block the creatures, fear evident in his eyes._

_“Do it. Embrace the darkness. Produce for your Master the ꭓ-blade!”_

_I then saw one of the creatures lunge at Ven, causing him to scream in fear. I then felt Ezra’s body move swiftly, as if time didn’t matter. Before I knew it, Ezra had defeated all of the creatures. And by the time he had saved him from the creatures, Ven had fainted._

_“Don’t interfere,” Master Xehanort warned, already approaching Ven and Ezra._

_Ezra just looked at Ven, before backing away from Ven’s unconscious body. “He was going to get pummeled regardless. You know very well that he won’t succumb.”_

_Master Xehanort eyed Ezra before looking down on Ven. “Really? You would rather die than use the power?”_

_He then moved Ven with his foot, making Ven lay down upright. “Feckless neophyte. If I must… I will extract the darkness from within you myself.”_

_I could feel Ezra’s eyes widen in shock as Master Xehanort summoned his keyblade and pointed it at Ven._

_‘What the hell is he doing?’ I could hear Ezra think._

_A ray then shot from the keyblade and reached Ven, causing him to gasp soundlessly as part of his heart was extracted from him. The heart piece flew up into the air and, moments later, waves of darkness engulfed the piece. When the waves started to vanish, Vanitas appeared. And when Ven’s open heart began to close again, the life in his eyes disappeared._

_“Empty creature from Ventus riven… to you, the name Vanitas shall be given,” Master Xehanort declared._

_As he said this, I could feel Ezra’s fists as they were clenched tightly, his expression going from being shocked to being angered._

_“Yes, Master,” Vanitas said in a monotone tone._

_“You know what?” Ezra said, his cool returning slightly. “I’m done.”_

_“Done?” Master Xehanort asked, confused at the statement._

_Ezra then turned away from him and began to walk away. “I’m sick of this game of yours. Darkness this, darkness that. Ventus did not deserve what you did…”_

_He then turned abruptly towards Master Xehanort. “He did not deserve to have his heart shattered like this!”_

_“Looks like I’ve let you under Master Eraqus’s tutelage for far too long. I should have gone to pick you sooner. We could have avoided this conversation all together.”_

_Master Eraqus? Ezra used to train under his guidance? Why hasn’t he ever mentioned—?_

_“I’d still be proud of Master Eraqus’s teachings regardless, old man. Unlike you, he has morals that even YOU won’t understand.”_

_Ezra then crossed his arms. “So I’ll say it again: I’m done. I refuse to be under your wing any longer.”_

_Master Xehanort then scoffed, before turning his back towards me. “Then leave and don’t think of ever coming back. You no longer have a place in this world. Your existence is meaningless to me. A disgrace.”_

_“Fine by me,” Ezra agreed, before turning around and vanishing._

* * *

_I was then taken to another memory. Ezra seemed to be hiding behind some wall inside the fountain structure that I was in moments ago. It was probably close to the exit. Looking towards the area where I fought that man, he was able to catch a glimpse of Master Xehanort and the man talking. Wait why are they talking in the first place? And why does the man look so mad?_

_Ezra then hid further away from them, making sure he wasn’t caught. Looks like he didn’t want to get caught by Master Xehanort, but wanted to confirm their identities._

_“Hey, you old coot!” The man said, apparently shooting at Master Xehanort and failing. “You said I wouldn’t get hurt! I didn’t sign up to be collateral damage! No way, as if!”_

_‘Pfft, idiot,’ I could hear Ezra think as he chuckled silently. I couldn’t help but shake my head at this, a smile unconsciously on my face._

_A peculiar sound then resonated, as if a sword was drawn out, and the man shut up in a matter of seconds. Wait… Could it be a keyblade?_

_“Okay! Okay, fine. Fine! Just… just put that down! You still need me!” The man pleaded. “You still need me to do something, right? And all I’m asking is that you hold up your end of the bargain.”_

_The “keyblade” seemed to be dismissed, making the man sigh in relief. “Heh, I mean, what’s a little scratch on my face, huh? All things considered. I’m just lucky he didn’t steal my heart like Princess Whatever-It-Was. That would’ve ruined my week for sure.”_

_“Unlikely,” Master Xehanort finally said. “A powerful light still lives inside of Terra. You see, people like him… they don’t have the power to steal hearts.”_

_Ezra seemed to have perked up his ears at this last sentence, and smirked. ‘Bingo. Some good intel for Terra.’_

_“So wait— you mean… he’s not the one who stole her heart?” The man asked._

_‘And that further confirms it,’ Ezra thought, before turning his head towards the exit._

* * *

I then came back to the present. Ezra was looking intently at me, waiting for me to speak. He gave me answers but… Now I have more questions.

“What… did you just do?” I asked, removing my hands from his.

“I shared two memories of mine with you,” Ezra answered as he crossed his arms once again. “One involving my history with Xehanort, and another one that I came across not too long ago. Seemed like pretty good intel.”

He then looked at his jabbed keyblade. “I control time. More specifically: I can control time in any given space. And I just so happen to get this memory maneuvering ability from my mother’s side of the family.”

“That’s… actually quite amazing.” I was speechless. Who would have thought? And I thought Stellae had pretty amazing powers.

I then placed a hand where my heart is. “And it seems you were right about my heart being strong… it was my light that made it that way.”

Ezra smiled with a nod, but then his expression became serious. “Now do you understand what I mean when I say I can’t trust Xehanort?”

I nodded. “I do. I may not know the whole story, but… I feel it’s enough for me to trust you. You even kept your promise.”

“I’m a man of my word,” Ezra said. “And my upbringings helped out with that.”

“In that first memory, Master Xehanort mentioned you being Master Eraqus’s pupil for some time. How come Master Eraqus never mentioned you?”

“That’s…” Ezra began with hesitance in his voice, but then sighed. “A bit more complicated. He doesn’t feel the same way as Xehanort but… I guess you can say he’d rather not bring me up to keep the peace.”

He extended his palms to me again. “I can show you more if you don’t believe me.”

I shook my head. “I think it’s enough for now. Don’t worry, I believe you.”

Ezra then brought his hands to his sides, a small smile on his face. “Alright then.”

I then remembered something, reaching to one of my pockets and taking out the extra ticket Ven gave me. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Ezra said, taking the ticket and examining it.

“It’s a lifetime pass to Disney Town. Ven had an extra ticket, so I thought maybe you’d want to go?”

“Really?” Ezra asked in surprise. “I’m flattered that you even considered me.”

“Well you are my friend, after all.”

Ezra looked a bit shocked. Seconds later, he had a gentle expression on his face as he looked at the ticket in a lonesome manner. “A friend… It’s been so long.”

“Sounds like you haven’t had a friend in a while,” I asked gently.

“Yeah… I had one, though she no longer remembers who I am.”

I felt my eyes widen slightly. I couldn’t help but frown. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Ezra said, waving it off. “It’s better off that way. For the both of us.”

Ezra put away the ticket before looking at me again. “So… When do you plan on going to Disney Town? I assume you also have a ticket?”

I nodded. “I actually planned on going now, since things aren’t so great between all of us… It’s just to keep my mind off things for now.”

“I see,” Ezra commented, before chuckling slightly. “Then why don’t we preoccupy our minds together? I think it’ll be fun.”

I laughed a bit. “I don’t see why not.”

Ezra’s eyes were shining brightly as I agreed. “Great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Terra and Stellae... Why are things not getting better?? At least Terra and Ezra talked things out:)
> 
> But gosh, Ezra's quite an amazing guy! Talk about unbelievable discoveries, right?
> 
> *Ahem* Anyways... Next chapter concludes Radiant Garden (for now...)


	3. A Change of Pace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Akari’s POV**

We ran towards the town square, trying to see where Terra went. Instead we saved a little boy with silver hair and a lab coat from the Unversed. A grown man, who explained to be "Ienzo's" guardian, told us that he saw someone in the Outer Gardens, which was up the road in front of us. We followed it, arriving at a beautiful area, filled with flowers. Terra was near the central fountains, and we could see him chatting with some other boy. I wonder who that could be…

It wasn't until seconds later that the boy vanished without a trace. Was I just imagining things?

“Terra!” Ven shouted.

When we got to Terra, he looked over to us with a confused expression.

“Did Stellae catch up with you?” I asked.

“Yeah, she did,” Terra said, before frowning slightly as he looked away from us. “But she left not so long ago.”

“Oh,” I could only mutter. Something’s not okay with him… I can feel it. But it looks like he doesn’t want to talk about it. I should probably let it go for now.

I then perked up, wanting to change the topic at hand. “Anyways... Since you’re going to other worlds and all…”

“Take us with you!” Ven finished, catching on rather quickly.

"I can't do that, guys,” Terra answered.

“Huh?” I was confused. Why—?

Ven beat me to it, a sad tone evident in his voice. "Why not?"

"I just— When I really need you two, Ven, I know the two of you'll be there."

Ven and I smiled at this, chuckling a bit.

“Well, why wouldn’t we?” Ven asked.

“You’re our friend, Terra,” I added.

“Yeah,” Terra agreed, looking down, as if lost in thought for a second. He then looked towards us and smiled. “You’re right. Thanks, Ven, Akari.”

Terra then activated his armor and keyblade glider and left the world, leaving Ven and I in the flower fields.

Ven turned to me. "We'd better tell Aqua.”

“Right,” I answered back.

We then decided to leave the Outer Gardens to go find Aqua.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

The portal took us to a town square from the same world.

"Hide here," Vanitas said, pointing to a bush.

I didn't hesitate. I quickly went inside the bush.

"And don’t come out until I say so. You got that?" He said.

"Yes," I said, not wanting to anger him.

"Very well then." And with that, he walked in the square.

What the heck is he planning?

Suddenly, I saw Aqua. Aqua?! Oh no, he’d better not!

She had noticed Stellae approaching some alleyway, her face troubled and deep in thought. It looked like she wanted to call out to her, but Vanitas came into her sight, making her change her point of attention. "A mask! You're the boy that Ventus mentioned."

"Ah yes, Ventus. Tell me something, has he learned to put up a decent fight yet?" He said, turning to where Aqua was. You better not do anything, Vanitas!

"What do you mean?"

"I'll be asking the questions. And why shouldn't I? After all, between the two of us… I'm the only one who will walk away from here alive."

Vanitas summoned his keyblade. Oh HECK no! Don't you dare! I felt rage at this point. I might get hurt by the attempt… But if he kills Aqua I WILL end him.

"Guess again!" Aqua said, summoning her keyblade.

For some reason I… don't want Aqua to beat Vanitas? Do I just want to do it myself? Nah, I'm not THAT evil. Heck, I'm not evil at all. Then what is it?

From that fight, the only thing I remembered was Vanitas laying on the floor. Wait what? Aqua already beat him? Great, me and my lost thoughts.

Aqua walked over to him. She looked exhausted. Must have been one heck of a fight. And I missed it?! Dang it!

Wait, what is she doing?

"Who are you?” Aqua said, bending down and reaching for his mask.

Okay, my thoughts can't distract me now. I've been wondering what Vanitas looked like, too. Maybe he's… No! Don't finish that sentence! Bad Kira! Bad!

Vanitas started laughing hysterically. Aqua jumped away from him and summoned her Keyblade while he stood up.

Well, that was a turn of events. 

"Not bad at all. Congratulations," he said in an amused tone, opening a dark portal behind him. "I'll keep you around.”

His tone then went serious. “Never hurts to have a backup."

With that he left through the portal.

Now… what the actual heck do you mean by backup?! You better not try to kidnap her, too! And… Wait a sec. He left?! What about me? He said I couldn't leave until he said so! Ugh, what a jerk!

"I have to stop him… before anything else happens to Terra, Akari, Ven, and Stellae,” Aqua said.

Aqua turned to the alleyway that Stellae went into, concern written on her face. 

“I wonder what happened…” Aqua pondered. She was about to leave the area, but a familiar voice stopped her.

"Aqua!" I heard a voice shout. Wait Ven? And it's Akari, too! Maybe, since Vanitas is gone…

"Thinking of leaving, Kira?"

I heard that close to my ear! I also felt I was in between two bent legs and someone's chest on my back. And an arm was wrapped around my waist! What the heck is this?! I was about to scream but a black and red glove covered my mouth forcefully. Wait, I know that voice!

"Vanitas?" I said. It was a bit muffled but he understood.

"Tsk, tsk, did someone want to blow her cover? You know the rules, you get found, they stop breathing."

I sighed. I heard a small chuckle from him.

I kept on listening to Aqua, Akari, and Ven.

“Akari. Ven. Were you able to find him?” Aqua asked.

"Yeah, but…" Ven started.

"He's gone," Akari completed for him.

"Right," Aqua said.

The three were silent for a bit, before Aqua spoke once more. "Then we can't stay here."

"Let us go with you, Aqua," Ven said.

"No Ven," Aqua said, firmly. "Do as we say and go home with Akari."

Ven looked down as he sighed. "Why won't you let us?"

Akari also looked down. I couldn't deny the look on her face. She senses something. Since I'm close, she must sense it strongly.

"I don't want to put you two in harm's way," Aqua said, putting a hand on both of Ven and Akari's opposing shoulders. "You understand?”

She then let go of their shoulders and looked over to the alleyway. “I need to look for Stellae… Something’s wrong.”

“Seems like that’s the case… I didn’t see her, but Terra wasn’t doing so well himself,” Akari asked with concern.

“I see… Then I’d better go check on her to see if she’s doing alright,” she said, before turning to us. “Just go home, you two. We’ll catch up soon enough.”

With that said, Aqua began to walk towards the alleyway, in hopes of finding Stellae.

...Well, one thing’s for sure. Until they don't leave, I get to stay like this with Vanitas. At least he removed his hand from my mouth. The bad thing is that he has that arm around my waist, too. And don't get me started on his head being on my right shoulder. "Aren't you a little too comfortable?"

"Aren't you acting like an idiot by talking?"

He's right on the talking part. Not on the idiot part, but still. The thing is, his closeness is getting to me. Maybe it's because I've never been this close to a guy, but come on! I hate this guy's guts! But why is my heart racing?

While we were talking, Ven and Akari met some guys around our age. At least I caught one of the guy's names. Lea… Somehow I feel that we're gonna cross paths someday.

Somehow, for a moment, I saw Lea glance over to where I was. Did he notice me?! I felt Vanitas wrap his arms around me tighter. "Don't say a word."

I nodded.

Ven and Akari apparently sparred with Lea and the guy got tired out. He seems like a good guy. I hope that I can meet him someday, too.

Ven and my sister left the world after that.

"They're gone. You can let me go now," I said, trying to rid his hands off me.

He let go of me, not having any rush. We got out of the bush, and I just stared at him. "How did you even get in there without anyone noticing?"

"Using a portal, obviously," he said, crossing his arms and leaning on one of the buildings.

I widened my eyes. "Then why didn't you just use the portal to help me escape?!"

"Because I wanted to have a little bit more fun," he said, evidently smirking.

"You call that fun?! You freak! And why were you trying to kill Aqua? And what did you mean by “backup”? You—"

"Ugh, can't you just shut the hell up? So annoying…" Vanitas said, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards me.

He grabbed my chin. "I don't need to explain myself to you. You just be a good girl and don't mess things up."

Vanitas then let go of my chin and created a portal behind him.

Seriously, how many times is he gonna grab my chin? He's so weird.

"You know," I started, wanting to see if I can get him even more annoyed.

"What?" Vanitas said, obviously mad.

"And I thought that I was going to see your face. That's too bad…"

"Well, keep dreaming. I'm not taking off this mask anytime soon."

"Oh really? How about we place a bet?"

"Pfft, a bet? Really? How childish can you get?"

"Well, don’t you wanna prove you're not bald, egghead?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Egghead." He was beyond mad now. He even closed the portal he created a while ago. "I'm listening."

"Let's have a match. If I win, You get to show me your face. If you win… I'll fight alongside you… against Terra, Aqua, Ven, Stellae… and my sister."

"Why risk so much? Is my face really that worth it?"

"Nah, I’m just curious about what’s behind that mask," I said, as if I didn’t care.

"Whatever, the deal's on." Vanitas summoned his keyblade.

"Bring it!" I summoned mine.

I haven't been practicing as much, so I hope I don't lose. We fought for a long time. It was all offense. I got scratches here and there, but it was nothing I couldn't heal. I was about to hit Vanitas, when suddenly he disappeared, appeared behind me and struck me down. I collapsed down onto the floor.

"What a waste of time." I could hear Vanitas talking, but I felt that I was going to faint. I closed my eyes for a minute.

I felt a strong pair of arms lift me up. It was only for a brief moment. "Geez, don't fall asleep here. Looks like I have some work to do. A LOT of work," Vanitas said, making it obvious that he was the one carrying me. 

Afterwards, I was placed against a wall, sitting up. I didn't faint, luckily, since my body was slowly healing on its own because of my magic. I may have weak magic, but it's good enough to heal me nonstop until I fully recover.

"I know you're awake, you know," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I felt him glaring at me.

"Just trying to heal up here," I said, but was pulled back up to my feet. "Hey!"

"Lesson One: In a real battle, resting is a no-go. It's like you're asking your enemy to kill you. This could have been a life or death situation. Stay sharp."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"If I'm going to have you work with me, you have to be at the top of your game. Maybe even more. I don't want you slowing me down."

Vanitas stayed silent for a moment. I felt that he was eyeing me up and down. Still don't know how I actually feel that gaze of his, considering that he's wearing a mask and I can't see his eyes. "Why didn’t I notice it before?"

"Notice what?"

"Tell me, what's truly inside your heart?" 

"What are you talking about here, Vanitas? You're not making any sense."

"The way you fought me gave me a taste of what your heart holds. Compared to Ventus and Aqua, your fighting style is different. Your heart is different."

"I don't understand you at all. My heart is filled with light, so what’s the difference?"

"The difference, idiot, is that your heart shows more dark potential than Ventus and Aqua's hearts combined. By working with me, you can show your true potential and power."

Well, I DO want to get stronger... I couldn’t even beat Aqua when we were sparring before. Even Vanitas beat me. But darkness is never the way to go.

"I want to show my true potential and power… But I don’t think darkness is the right path to take," I told him.

"Well too bad. I'm the one that's going to train you, so you have to suck it up. And on another note, you have to hold your end of the bargain."

Me and my big mouth. Why the heck did I even make a bet with him? I lost and now I have to deal with this guy as a trainer. And all for a pretty face. Wait. Scratch that. I don't even know what he looks like.

"Fine," I said.

"Starting now, you will be training without any rest or mercy. You'd better get your act together."

Vanitas created a new portal, and we both went through it. What did I get myself into?

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

I decided to take a long walk to clear my head. The whole thing with Terra… Was actually quite shocking. I felt that it was best to look at the scenery to calm my nerves. And the garden nearby was perfect for that.

“Stellae!” I heard someone call out.

Aqua? Looking towards the area’s entrance, I noticed Aqua running towards me. Once she reached me, she had a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay? What happened back there?”

I glanced at some of the nearby flowers and sighed. “Discoveries, discoveries.”

Aqua looked at the flowers too, before focusing her gaze on me again. “Hey… How about we go to the large fountain that’s near the factory? I believe there’s something that you might like to see.”

This slightly piqued my interest. I looked at Aqua with curiosity. “Really?”

Aqua nodded and gestured for me to follow her. “Come on.”

We then began to walk to the area with the large fountain. After minutes of walking and admiring the scenery, we reached the bottom of the large fountain.

“So what do you want me to see?” I asked.

“Watch this,” Aqua said, summoning her keyblade and looking around the fountain area. She then leaped up and threw many rainbow prism orbs towards the fountain spouts. The spouts were then sprinkling water due to the impact but not enough to get us both wet. In less than a second and to my surprise, the sprinkling water looked as if colorful sparkles were falling from the sky.

“Wow,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the fountain, looking at the sparkles in awe. “This is quite the beautiful sight.”

“I thought you’d like it,” Aqua said, sitting next to me. “Who knew magic orbs are capable of such beauty?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“… Stellae, what happened back there?”

I looked down to where the water of the fountain was. “Well, I found out what’s up with Terra.”

“And you’re not glad about finding out?” Aqua asked, concerned.

“Honestly, I wish he hadn’t told me… I had an idea of what was going on but wanted to deny it until I confirmed it myself. I guess… I regret finding out that what I thought was actually true.”

“Stellae…”

“Do you know what it’s like to find out that someone you see as a brother has different feelings for you? It’s… not a fun time. Especially when he tries to lean in for a kiss that was very much blocked.”

“I had no idea…” Aqua said, looking down.

“I really believed that he liked me as family, though I had my doubts at times… I guess I feel a bit surprised, that’s all.”

I then blinked in surprise, feeling some tears on my face. I wiped one off my face. “Huh? Well, didn’t expect to be crying about this.”

I was about to wipe another tear, but Aqua was faster than me and wiped it off my face with a couple of her fingers before gently grabbing my arm with that same hand.

“Crying about these types of things is understandable. So don’t worry,” Aqua said, giving me a comforting smile.

“I just hope that he understands… I don’t want this to ruin the bond that we share.”

Aqua looked down for a second, silent. She then perked up slightly. “Stellae, how about we go to Disney Town to take our minds off things? We do have tickets, after all.”

I looked up to her. “But wouldn’t taking time off mean—“

“Stellae, we both need it,” Aqua said, smiling at me. “Just trust me on this.”

I smiled slightly. Why does she manage to calm me down so easily?

Aqua got up, bringing me up with her, both hands on my shoulders now. “Then let’s go! It’ll be a good change of pace.”

I nodded. “Yeah… That’s for sure.”

She then let go of me and was about to summon her armor, but I stopped her. “Hey, Aqua?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

She smiled, her eyes shining brightly.

We both then summoned our armors and keyblade gliders and left the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, everyone needs to take a breather:( 
> 
> But luckily, the next two chapters are exactly that:D
> 
> Time to have fun in Disney Town!


	4. Rumble Racing and Musical Ice-Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Terra’s POV**

I had arrived in a field in Disney Town. Looks like I landed pretty far off from the entrance… There appeared to be a fence dividing up the field with some wide, open road.

“I wonder when Ezra’s gonna get here,” I pondered. Before he left Radiant Garden, he told me that he needed to get something he forgot and that we should meet at Disney Town instead of arriving there together.

Just then, numerous Unversed passed by at a fast pace. “Unversed!”

I then jumped onto the road with keyblade in hand. But the Unversed were long gone before I could deal any damage. Drat!

Dismissing my keyblade, I thought: why not use my Keyblade Glider to fight them instead? “I’ll take you on.”

I was about to summon my armor, when all of a sudden, a voice sounded from nearby. “Look out!”

When I looked back, someone with a black and purple kart approached me at a high speed. I was able to dodge it in time, but the sudden speed made me fall to the ground regardless.

Standing back up, I noticed a mouse, a dog, and two chipmunks watching near the fence, looking rather relieved.

I then went with them to the field area’s entrance. “Thanks for piping up back there. I mean it. The name’s Terra.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Terra,” the mouse said. She had a pink dress and a crown to match. She seemed to be from royal descent.

“What’re you, nuts, runnin’ out onto the course like that?” One of the chipmunks said. He had a black nose, unlike the other chipmunk, who had a red nose.

“Yeah, that’s against the rules,” the red-nosed chipmunk added.

“I’m sure you had your reasons, but I can't say that I approve either,” the mouse said.

“Well, rules don’t apply when you’re up against the Unversed,” I tried to reason.

“Rules don’t apply?! You sound just like Pete!” The black-nosed chipmunk continued.

Just then, the other chipmunk was starting to jump up and down. “Look, it’s Captain Dark!”

“Disguised in shadows, the rogue racer reigns!” A figure in the background said, before jumping off some bridge and landing on the ground below with a pose. “I am… Captain Dark!”

… What did I just witness? Though I’ve seen weirder things happening lately…

“And you must be the chump who made me miss a new track record. Hold on… How’s come I don’t know you? Somebody bringin’ in a ringer?”

“I’m not even a racer,” I tried to explain.

But Captain Dark decided to put a giant arm around my shoulders. “Must be downright temptatious to try ‘n’ stop a primo racer like me from gettin’ the record. But we all gotta play by the rules, rookie.”

Captain Dark then released his hold on me before walking away.

The black-nosed chipmunk then complained to no avail. “Now just a second! You’re the no-good cheater who’s always breakin’ the rules!”

I then turned to the two chipmunks. “I can’t say racing interests me, but I need to defeat the Unversed. Tell me what I’ve gotta do.”

“Are you talkin’ about all those karts that look like scary, ugly monsters?”

I nodded.

“Hmm…” the chipmunks pondered.

It was only a matter of time before the mouse spoke up. “Well, we’ve only ever seen the monsters on the track…”

“That’s it!” The black-nosed chipmunk exclaimed while the red-nosed chipmunk nodded enthusiastically. “Terra, you just need to enter the races! And while you’re at it, take that Captain Dark down a notch or two. He’s always breakin’ the rules and causin’ trouble.”

“I have to become a racer?” I asked.

The two chipmunks just nodded as they affirmed encouragingly.

“Now, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you—” the mouse started to say.

But I managed to beat her to it. “I know. I’ll play by the rules.”

She then smiled at me sweetly.

The chipmunks seemed excited for a new racer to join the race, and told me to let them know when I was ready to go. I just needed to summon my keyblade glider, so I hardly needed to prepare myself.

Reaching the starting point of the track, I summoned my Keyblade Glider and readied myself for the race.

“Hold on!” The red-nosed chipmunk shouted.

“We have a last minute entry!” The red-nosed chipmunk added.

Last minute entry? I wonder if they’ll put up much of a competition.

“Long time no see, Terra,” I heard the new competitor say. Wait, isn’t that—?

I turned my head, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Took you long enough to get here.”

Ezra then raised his cloak slightly, showing a small guard on his left arm. “I was meaning to get this back for quite some time. Don’t know why I didn’t get it before. But better late than never.”

Covering his arm again, he smiled. “May the best man win?”

“You bet,” I said, before facing towards the starting line.

The countdown to start the race began. Once the “Go” signal was given, we all bolted from our spots. I was able to bash some Unversed and take some shortcuts here and there. And before I knew it, I was already on the third lap, first place as good as mine. Just then, Ezra passed by me with a burst of speed. “Try to catch up!”

Bursting in speed, I chased after him, hitting any Unversed in my path and avoiding any nearby obstacles. We were going neck ‘n neck for two laps straight.

Things started to heat up in the fifth and final lap. The Unversed decided to attack both me and Ezra without mercy, while Captain Dark was trying to pull some tricks on us. Lucky for us, we were able to parry their attacks on time while still fighting for first place.

Closing in on the finish line, I tried to get a burst of speed to pass Ezra. This extra speed secured first place for me, but only by a hair. So Ezra was, without a doubt, a close second.

After slowing down, the two of us dismissed our keyblade gliders and started to head back to the track’s entryway.

“Good race,” Ezra commented, giving a slight nod of approval. “You’re quite the formidable foe.”

“I’m just a beginner when it comes to racing,” I clarified sheepishly. “You seem like a pro when you passed me like that.”

“I have some tricks up my sleeve. And I could show you some other ones… If you’re up for another match,” Ezra slyly said, winking at me.

I chuckled. “Maybe next time.”

Reaching the entryway, Captain Dark seemed to be throwing a fit. “My kart musta sprung a spring! You yahoos just wait— next time, I’ll clobber all of you!”

He then jumped onto his damaged, smoking kart and left briskly.

“Yippee! I hope he’s gone for good,” the black-nosed chipmunk cheered with glee. “Nobody’s gonna vote for a weasel like you, Pete!”

“Pete? Vote? What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Chip means the Million Dreams Award—” the mouse explained. “It’s a very popular part of our Dream Festival. Everyone in town votes for who we think is the most exemplary citizen.”

“And since everybody knows how much of a troublemaker Pete is… he probably figured wearin’ a disguise was the only way he'd get any votes,” Chip continued.

“No votes, no prize!” The red-nosed chipmunk said.

“Yeah, the prize is all he really wants anyway,” Chip commented. “He doesn’t care about bein’ a good citizen.”

“Oh, I think that’s very sad,” the mouse said in a saddened tone. “The award is supposed to help us appreciate how much we all look out for each other every day.”

“Well, one thing I know for sure,” Chip declared. “I’m votin’ for Terra and Ezra! Your racing really saved the day against those monster karts!”

“Hip hip hurray for Terra and Ezra!” The red-nosed chipmunk cheered.

Ezra and I looked at each other and chuckled a bit. Looks like we’re exemplary citizens in their eyes… And it's all because we wanted to keep the peace.

“Well, I got something out of it, too,” I commented. “I learned that you don’t always have to bend the rules to reach your goals.”

“Yeah,” Ezra added. “Playing by the rules assures safety and peace for all, after all.”

The mouse smiled sweetly at our responses.

“All this time, I’ve been staring into the darkness…” I contemplated. “But… that doesn’t mean I have to jump in.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Ezra agreed. His expression was suddenly serious. “I’m actually glad that you figured that out now… and not at a crucial time.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked confusedly.

He seemed to be hesitant to answer. “There are times when the heart makes us do unreasonable things that... we can’t seem to control. And this applies to dark urges. Your heart may see that darkness and may want to succumb to it. But your mind may say otherwise, telling you to stand firm with your beliefs. Just because your heart can lose control, doesn’t mean your mind can’t take the wheel in its place.”

Ezra remained silent for a few seconds before he continued. “It’s best to realize this when at peace, rather than acknowledging this during a time of turmoil. The outcome may be worse than expected…”

“Seems like you know a thing or two about that,” I commented. Based on his expression, it seemed to be more like personal experience rather than some random book fact.

“I do,” Ezra confessed. “Though I don’t usually like dwelling on the subject. But given the situation, it had to be said.”

“I see… I understand.”

“Good to hear,” Ezra said. But then he seemed to realize something. “Oh that’s right… Terra, I’ve been meaning to ask: mind if I tag along with you? I know you’re visiting the other worlds to eliminate the Unversed, so I thought… maybe two keyblades can finish the job more easily?”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I said.

“Then it’s settled.”

I then realized something: how are we meeting in the next world? He could just teleport there but… I had to ask. “Wait, so are we doing this like last time?”

He just shook his head. “Nope, I got my armor back. Remember?”

“Oh, right, I kinda forgot about that... “ I said in a sheepish tone.

Ezra chuckled slightly. “Well, since we solved that little predicament, shall we head out?”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

We then summoned our Keyblade Gliders and armors before heading to the next world.

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

Ven and I made it to Disney Town! I guess the free tickets were worth it. I still can't shake the feeling that my sister was in Radiant Garden… My magic may not be perfect, but when it comes to tracking people, it's usually on the right path.

But hey, at least this place can take my mind off things.

As we walked into the town and looked around, we heard a couple of loud footsteps. Who—?

“Tada! Wearin’ the mask of peace and hope…. comes the fearless defender and hero of this town! It is me— Captain Justice!” Said some big random… dog? Or is he a cat? I don’t know, I just saw random pizzazz from him… I’m so confused.

“Huh? Umm…” I heard Ven say. Looks like we’re on the same page here.

“Young fellow and lass! Do my hero-senses detect that you two got troubles? Just say the word, and Captain Justice will make all your problems disappear!”

“Uh… uh…” I started saying, looking at Ven for help.

He caught my cue. “Y-you mean us? We’re just trying to make some friends— Never mind, forget it.”

Captain Justice didn’t seem to budge from his spot. “Don’t be intimidated by my magnificence. Go on and spit it out. Then… remember to vote Captain J.”

Wait what? What does he mean by vote?

“Vote?” Ven asked, just as confused as I was. Maybe we’re even more confused.

“Oh! Well, uh, forget that. How can I help? That’s the only reason I’m here.”

“O-okay?” I said.

“Hmm… I know! Tell us about your town. Everything’s so festive. Is it always like this?” Ven asked.

Captain Justice looked surprised. “Huh? That’s it— nothin’ else? Well, the festivities are on account of the Dream Festival— which is why I’ve made sure there’s carnival stuff all over town.”

“Really?” Ven said, quite interested.

I’m kinda interested, too. “Like what?”

“Ho ho, you gotta see it for yourself. Wouldn’t be much of a dream I just told ya.”

“Right. Thanks,” Ven said.

“And kids, don’t you two go forgettin’… Captain Justice is the one who solved all your problems. That would be Justice with a J!”

“Uh, sure. We got it, Captain Justice,” I said. Is he interested in helping us or does he have ulterior motives…? Honestly, something seems off about this guy.

“Aww, phooey! This stinks! Now we can’t open the ice cream shop!” We heard a few feet away. Wait, are those ducklings with hats? And a mouse with a crown? They were near some kind of machine.

“Trouble? Rescue is on the way!” Captain Justice said before running off towards them.

“A festival, huh?” I said, looking around. The decorations were very colorful and cheery. They immediately put a smile on my face.

Ven smiled too. “Maybe we can make some new friends here, Akari.” I felt his gaze on me, so I looked back at him with excitement on my face.

I nodded. “Yeah, plus we have each other. We might end up making double the friends that we would make if we were on our own.”

“Right,” Ven chuckled. 

When I was looking around, at some point Ven and I made eye contact. Ven looked a bit surprised and looked away. Was he blushing a bit?

I looked away from him, feeling my face turn a bit pink.

“A-Anyways, let’s see what’s up over there!” I said, wanting to ease the air a bit. I began to walk over there.

“O-Okay,” Ven said, following me.

Approaching the machine, which was right in front of a stage, we saw Captain Justice talking to the ducklings and the mouse. Noticing our presence, he turned to us.

“Well, if it ain’t the last two kids Captain Justice saved. ‘Fraid you’ll have to get in line. I’m working on another catastrophe here for these fellahs— Huey, Dewey, and Louie, my good friends,” Captain Justice said.

“Now, I’d hardly call it a catastrophe,” the mouse said.

“Yeah, all we were tryin’ to do was make our own special recipe ice cream,” Huey said.

“And we had a little trouble,” Dewey added.

“Come on, it’s not really that big a deal,” Louie concluded.

Captain Justice looked as if he wasn’t having it. “I’m 100% positive you’re the victims of sabotage!”

Um isn’t that a little…

“Not even close! Quit makin’ stuff up,” Dewey complained.

“It’s just the ice cream machine,” Louie added.

“Unca Scrooge left it for us… but we can’t figure out how it works ‘cause it’s so complicated,” Huey continued.

“Aw, we’re sorry, Queen Minnie. We wanted you to be the first to try our special recipe ice cream,” Dewey apologized to the mouse.

“Oh boys, it was very sweet of you to think of me,” Queen Minnie said.

So she’s the queen? I mean she has the crown and all... but then again, this is a festival so I could have thought otherwise… Who knew?

“We tried,” Louie said with a frown.

“Say no more. Leave it to me— one bowl of ice cream comin’ right up!” Captain Justice said, approaching the machine.

“You’re just gonna make a mess. Leave it alone, Pete!” Dewey warned.

Pete? Looks like that’s his real name.

“That’s Captain Justice!” Pete corrected enthusiastically.

After a while of seeing “Captain Justice” trying to get the machine to work, we managed to witness the waste of many scoops of ice cream... I’m pretty sure no one would eat them off the floor.

Captain Justice looked frustrated as he hit the machine. “This machine is busted. It just needs a good poundin’…”

Queen Minnie looked a bit mad. “It does not!”

“Hey, you think we could give it a shot?” Ven said.

“We might get it to work,” I added.

“No, if Captain Justice can’t fix it, there ain’t nothin’ you two can do, kids,” Pete said, not convinced.

“Maybe not, but there’s no harm in trying,” Ven said.

“Yeah! And better you two than him,” Huey said.

Huey then handed Ven and me pieces of paper. “Here ya go. These are the directions for the machine.”

Long story short, the instructions were straight forward: Sit on the machine and play the keys to the rhythm of the music.

“This sounds simple enough,” I said, looking at Ven.

“Yeah,” he said, looking back at me. “Any preference on who should go first?”

I shook my head slightly. “Not particularly. You wanna go first?”

“Sure,” Ven said, smiling.

He went over to the machine and sat on the chair the machine provided. The machine’s piano keys really captivated my eye. After all, playing an instrument is like casting spells. With just enough practice, people can create music… And isn’t that the same with magic?

Ven started using the machine. He played a very cheerful song. Wait it sounds familiar… is that It’s a Small World?

I couldn’t help but smile. That song takes me back. I remember that the Master taught it to us a couple of years back. He told us that the song may sound super simple, but it meant that we were all connected… That no matter where we were, we would always find a way back to each other. We would sing the song multiple times and it never got old.

After the song ended, Ven got off the machine and, to my surprise, the machine had created a nicely decorated sundae on the stage.

Ven grinned from ear to ear. He looked at me. “This is so cool! Akari, you really need to try this!”

I giggled a bit. I went over to the machine and sat down. Now what to play… I got it!

I started to play an upbeat song. Wonder if Ven can guess this one.

After I finished using the machine, another nice-looking sundae was created.

I felt my eyes sparkle of pure excitement for a second. “Wow, this is amazing!”

“Told ya,” Ven said with a grin.

I got out of the seat and approached him. “It was a really nice walk down memory lane, I can tell you that.”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t think you would play Dessert Paradise though. It sounded so good!”

A few years ago, we used to play this hand game called Dessert Paradise and it involved a lot of high-fives, claps, and other fancy hand movements. Giving it a musical representation sounded like a good idea.

I laughed a bit. “Why thank you! It’s a Small World turned out really well too.”

He grinned. “Had to play it. This place takes me back.”

I smiled at him. “I know how you feel.”

I felt our eyes lock for a second again. I looked away, feeling my face turn pink.

“H-Hey Akari, I think we should bring the ice-cream over to the others?” Ven asked.

When I looked back at him, I noticed he was avoiding eye contact with me. So he IS blushing?

“O-Okay,” I said, hurrying over to where the sundaes were. I heard Ven follow behind me.

After giving the sundaes to Queen Minnie and the ducklings, the Queen tasted a bit of both sundaes. “Mmm, how yummy. What wonderful treats! I don’t think I’ve ever had such delicious ice cream. Thank you—uh, oh, oh dear…”

“Oh, Ventus. Just Ven is fine,” Ven said.

“And I’m Akari,” I added.

“Well, thank you, Ventus and Akari,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Way to go, Ven and Akari!” We heard Huey say with glee.

“I see,” Louie said, examining the machine. “We had to push this thingamajig the other way.”

“Hey, I just got an idea! We could let our customers make up their own favorite flavors of ice-cream!” Dewey suggested.

“Not with that machine!” Captain Justice said, apparently not happy. “Well… The kids mighta got it to work this one time. But junk like that needs to get junked!”

“Don’t you dare, Pete!” Queen Minnie said angrily.

“Fine. But Captain Justice will return!” Captain Justice said, before leaving in a huff.

What’s his deal?

“About “Captain Justice”— you said his name is Pete?” I asked the others.

“Yeah, he’s the biggest troublemaker in town!” Huey said.

“I bet he’s just callin’ himself Captain Justice ‘cause he wants to win the Million Dreams Award,” Dewey added.

“What’s the Million Dreams Award?” Ven asked.

“That’s one of the Dream Festival events,” Queen Minnie said. “Everyone votes for who they think is the town’s most exemplary citizen.”

“I get it. So that’s what he meant by “vote”,” I said.

“And if ya win the award, ya get a really cool prize!” Loui commented.

“Oh, it’s just a small token, nothing elaborate. The event is supposed to help us appreciate how much we all look out for each other every day. That’s the spirit of the award,” Queen Minnie said.

“Well, that sounds nice enough…” Ven said.

I can agree with that. A small token for being kind while expecting nothing in return…

“Pete just wants to get his grubby hands on the prize,” Huey said.

“And he knows that nobody’s gonna vote for him if he puts his own name on the ballot!” Dewey added.

“But nobody’s fooled!” Louie said.

“Yeah!” Huey and Dewey both said.

The three ducklings then laughed.

“Wish somebody was looking out for us,” Ven said, looking down with a soft smile on his face.

I smiled as well. “Yeah. After all the stuff that’s been going on… I really wish for that, too…”

After a while, we then decided to head to the gazebo at the center of the plaza and sat down on the stairs. We sat there in silence for a few seconds. I then looked up to the clear, blue sky. “It’s great how a world can make us remember so many memories… I wish this moment would last even longer.”

“Yeah,” Ven said. “And we even got to share more memories.”

I felt his gaze on me, so I went to look at him. He was smiling at me.

I smiled back. “Memories that connect to past memories.”

He chuckled. “That too.”

I then looked back at the sky, blushing a bit.

“Hopefully we’ll have more memories that connect to past memories…” I heard Ven say slightly.

“Huh?” I said, not knowing what he meant by that.

Ven just scratched his head sheepishly, a blush evident on his face. “N-Nevermind. Hey, wanna make some more ice-cream? I feel that we should do a few more rounds.”

I giggled a bit, feeling a faint blush on my cheeks as well. “That sounds like a good idea.”

We then got up and ran towards the musical ice-cream machine.

I couldn’t help but keep a smile on my face. This place is amazing! Who would have thought that I would have an amazing day like this with Ven! It kinda felt like a date… Wait what am I thinking? We were just hanging out. I… think? I don't know… Anyways! The time that I spent with Ven was magical, if you know what I mean. It was different than other times, since we usually hung out like this with Aqua, Terra, Kira, and Stellae. This time it was just the two of us. I wish it would never end… But duty calls. We don’t know what the future holds. I hope that Ven and I can have moments like this again very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, Ven and Akari are just adorable<3
> 
> And seriously... Ezra seems to have quite a mysterious past...
> 
> On another note: next chapter concludes this fun visit to Disney Town:D


	5. How About Some Magical Fruitball?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Kira’s POV**

“Again,” Vanitas said, obviously not amused.

I was groaning on the floor after I was thrown a few feet off the floor by one of the big Unversed. “Vanitas, we’ve been at it for hours already. Can’t I rest for a little bit?”

This jerk has been throwing raid after raid of Unversed nonstop. I’m almost out of steam here!

“During combat, there is no rest. The enemy won’t care for your pathetic excuse of wanting to take a break. So suck it up.”

I grunted as I stood up. I ran towards the many Unversed in front of me, swinging my keyblade at them and hitting a couple of them at once. But then I felt one of them hit me on my side and I just collapsed onto the floor. Why are we fighting on a rooftop again? The tiles hurt like hell!

“You’re pathetic,” he said, annoyed.

He then walked towards me. Pulling me up from my right arm, he stood me up. “This is not a playground to mess around in. In these types of situations, you either survive or perish.”

Vanitas then shoved me forwards, making me stumble a bit.

“Didn’t your master ever give you breaks during training?” I asked. “What accomplishments can you achieve by being so tired out all the time?”

“Feeling such exhaustion can lead a person to unleash their heart’s true potential, which is something my master wanted from me.”

“But aren’t you more likely to get hurt that way?” I asked. Master Eraqus would usually emphasize this for the sake of his pupils' safety during training. What was Xehanort thinking?

“Why would you care?” Vanitas asked with his usual tone.

Wait sec what? I stopped to think for a sec. Why am I even asking this? This is so weird…

“W-Well it’s not fun when someone’s hurt. Especially if you are referring to yourself.”

“You get used to it. Hurt makes you stronger,” he said, walking away with his back towards me.

Strange… It sounds as if…

“… You seem to know how that works.” I said, which made him stop in his tracks.

“So what? It’s a feeling like any other. And becoming immune to it makes everything easier.”

“I don’t think you can fully be immune to feelings. Even if you have felt them in the past, you can’t get rid of them that easily.”

“Well tough luck. I don’t have a choice.”

Why doesn’t he… I’m just going to leave it at that.

“Whatever… Let’s just keep training,” I said, slowly walking towards the Unversed that were still present. They then disappeared. “Huh?”

“I have a better idea,” Vanitas said.

He then created a portal. After we passed through it, we were in a gaming court of some kind.

“Let’s try this: you and me, one on one. Sounds hard? Well it gets even harder. I’ll be throwing you some dark magic and you’re gonna have to volley the attacks towards me. Consider this a game of dark magic volleyball.”

“But what about the Unversed?”

“They’ll come to my aid at times to make things even more challenging.”

Great, why did I open my big mouth?

I took a deep breath. I then walked over to my side of the court, keyblade in hand. “Alright, give me your best shot.”

He walked over to his side of the court with his keyblade in hand as well. “Gladly.”

Vanitas then unleashed what seemed like dark fire. As the fire came closer, I readied myself. I hit the fireball with my keyblade, causing the ball to go flying towards my opponent. As he hit the fireball, he added more fire to it, causing the fireball to become even larger.

Two red, pot-like Unversed appeared next to him and started shooting fireballs at me as well.

My eyes widened in shock. I was able to hit all of the fireballs, but just barely. “Seriously?”

“Got a problem?”

I rolled my eyes. “Nope, bring on the heat.”

He just laughed. This guy… The day I beat his sorry ass will be a marvelous day. I’ll even bring confetti.

“How about I bring the thunder while I’m at it?”

Two more pot-like Unversed were summoned, only this time they were yellow. They began to throw thunderbolts at me. Good thing I was able to reflect these attacks.

“That all you got?” I smirked.

“Please, I have enough to make you give me the cold shoulder,” he said, making dark icicles fall near me.

I managed to dodge and reflect the icicles.

“Really? I’m pretty sure I’ll just blow you away with my skills,” I said, using strong winds to carry some of the icicles towards him and the Unversed.

Vanitas then extended his keyblade forward, causing gravity to contain the wind. “And I don’t think your skills will escape the void.”

“Then how about—“ I started to say, ready to use the power of gravity. But as I did so, the magic became darker than usual.

What is—

When I unleashed it, it engulfed the Unversed but Vanitas was able to escape it.

Damn it, and I thought I had him…

“Now that’s the darkness that I wanted to see,” he said walking over to me and dismissing his affected Unversed. “And it was during break time, too. Seriously…”

“Wait, so this was all just a break?” I couldn’t believe my ears. How is that even possible?!

“Well, this was less boring than actual training. On your end, that is,” he said, standing in front of me with crossed arms.

I deeply sighed. I swear… One of these days… When I’m more powerful than him… He’s going ALL the way down…

“Okay, so does this mean the actual training starts after this?”

“Are you eager to start or just curious?” Vanitas said. I could sense he was smirking for some reason.

“You know the answer to that,” I said, hoping that what I said wouldn’t make future training worse for me.

He just dismissed his keyblade. “Fair enough. But just be aware that I won’t be giving you these small “breaks” all the time.”

“Wouldn’t count on it anyways,” I said, dismissing my keyblade as well.

I am actually surprised and glad that I got to rest up even just a tiny bit. His training is too intense! Though his so-called “break” wasn’t the calmest thing in the world... it still brought up my spirits somehow. Although it’s hard to admit it… I found this break from training… fun?

“Perfect, since our next stop will have no resting whatsoever,” he said, opening a dark corridor.

I groaned internally. Great… Just what I needed. Why did I bet to do this again?

“Alright,” I said. “I signed up for this.”

“And you can’t back away, so come on,” he said, walking towards the corridor.

As I followed him, I couldn’t help but notice how our conversations are not as intense as before. They’re less… life threatening? It’s strange. It’s like enjoying a nice chat with a friend. But he’s not a friend! Ugh… I’m so confused right now… Maybe it’s because I hang around him almost everyday and he’s rubbing off on me? I hope that’s not the case. So until I’m free from his grasp, I guess the real question I should be asking is... What the heck is going on here?

* * *

**Stellae’s POV**

When we got to Disney Town, I could still feel the heavy thoughts and signals going around in my head. “I really hope this works… I really need to chill a bit.”

“This will work,” Aqua said, smiling. “For both of us.”

I smiled back at her.

We began to walk around, when suddenly a talking… dog appeared?

“Tada! Wearin’ the mask of peace and hope… comes the fearless defender and hero of this town! It is me— Captain Justice!”

“Huh?” Aqua said.

I just cocked my head to the side. What in the world?

We turned the other direction and walked away from the strange dog.

“Wha— Now listen, you pipsqueaks. I’m Captain Justice! Who are you two to walk away whenst a bona fide hero is offerin’ his help?” The dog said, obviously mad.

Aqua turned to him. “I’m sorry, but we really don’t need any kind of hero, bona fide or—“

“Somebody, come quick!” Another voice interrupted. A horse?

The horse was walking into the town square when he suddenly fell on his hands and knees.

“What’s that? Trouble? Captain Justice to the rescue!” Captain Justice said, before running off towards the horse.

“What a strange character,” I said, not impressed.

Aqua nodded. “Let’s see if we can help the horse out. I feel that we can at least do something.”

With that said, we headed over to where Captain Justice and the horse were.

The horse then looked up to Captain Justice. “You? Well, now that’s a shame… Or is it? Maybe this job’s perfect for you, Mr. Hero.”

“What!? Name your catastrophe!” Captain Justice said, too enthusiastically to my liking right now.

“Those annoyin’ monsters have turned up again over in Fruitball Plaza. They’re all yours now, Captain J.”

Looks like the Unversed are here too…

“Monsters!? Well… too bad. Not on the list,” Captain Justice said.

“I didn’t know “bona fide heroes” got to pick,” Aqua said.

“But I wouldn’t stand a chance of survivin’— er, of fittin’ em into my schedule.“

“Gosh, I thought you said you were Captain Justice. You can’t leave those menacing things runnin’ loose. They’re ruining Fruitball!” The horse said.

“Huh? Hark, do you hear that? Somebody’s callin’ for Captain Justice’s help!”

We listen around but hear nothing. Trying to escape the situation, are you?

“Do not fear! I am on my way! Sounds like this catastrophe can’t wait. But, uh, I’ll be back here in a jiff!” Captain Justice said, before running off.

A horribly executed escape plan, if I do say so myself.

“Oh, I’m sure you will, Captain Useless. But I don’t think I’ll stay here and hold my breath,” the horse said.

Aqua and I looked at each other and nodded. We then looked back at the horse.

“We’re anything but heroes, but maybe we could help, if you want,” Aqua offered.

“Would you? Oh, that’d be just jim-dandy! Someone needs to trounce those fiends at Fruitball… and keep ‘em away from the plaza.”

“We’ll try,” I said.

“Just give a holler once you’re ready, and I’ll explain to ya both how Fruitball works,” he said, before walking over to where I believe the Fruitball court is.

Aqua looks towards me. “Wanna see if we can beat some Unversed in some Fruitball? I feel that we’ll both be having fun and solving a problem at the same time.”

“It’d be good to help him out… Plus keeping my mind off things would help. This might actually do the trick,” I said.

“Then let’s head over. I’m curious as to how the game works,” Aqua said.

We went over to the Fruitball court and met up with the horse, who then went on to explain the rules of the game. It’s… kinda like volleyball? Only instead of balls, we’re playing with fruit. Seems easy enough.

“Ready for this?” Aqua said, keyblade in hand.

I nodded, holding my keyblade in a stance. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The game went from easy to quite hard very quickly. And I’m not even talking about the Unversed. Who had the idea of adding a bunch of grapes that just fly all over the place?! Anyways, we played for a while and in the end, we beat the Unversed. It was… actually quite fun! It was something totally different and interesting.

“We did it!” I said, a smile on my face.

“Yeah!” Aqua said, dismissing her keyblade.

I did the same. “Did you see all of those grapes? It was crazy!”

“I was impressed at how fast they were going,” Aqua laughed a bit.

“My, you two sure taught those monsters a lesson. You’re both the real heroes in town, if you ask me,” the horse said, approaching us.

Just then, a mouse with a crown and a dog walked up. The horse bowed down to her.

“He’s right, my dears. I couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much,” the mouse said.

“Who are you?” Aqua asked.

“I’m Minnie,” the mouse said.

“And she’s our queen,” the horse clarified.

“Oh,” Aqua and I said in surprise.

“Please excuse us, Your Majesty,” Aqua said, kneeling down.

“Where are our manners,” I said right after and kneeling down as well.

“My name is Aqua.”

“And my name is Stellae.”

“There’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Minnie,” she said sweetly.

We then stood up.

“You see, I’m not sure I’m doing a very good job protecting my kingdom,” Minnie said.

“Oh, don’t say that, Queen Minnie. We all know how hard it’s been since the King set off the way he did. Don’t you trouble yourself. Why we wouldn’t even think of putting on our yearly Dream Festival if we thought there was the slightest chance anything might go wrong,” the horse said.

“Oh, you’re very kind, Horace,” Minnie said.

“How ‘bout that Pete, though? Captain Justice my hide! You can’t count on him for anything,” Horace said.

“Wait… You’re saying his real name is Pete?” Aqua asked.

“Well, it sure as sugar isn’t “Justice”. Pete never does anythin’ for anybody except Pete. That getup is just an act to get folks to vote for him. He wants to win the Million Dreams Award and hog the prize,” Horace explains.

I saw something strange about Pete and it looks like I was right. Maybe the mere fact of being here HAS cleared my mind a bit.

“Million Dreams Award? What is that?” Aqua asked.

“It’s part of our Dream Festival. We all vote for who we think the most admirable citizen is. But Pete seems to have the wrong idea. He thinks that dressing up as a hero and proclaiming that he is one will win him votes. What really makes someone a hero isn’t what they wear or what they say— it’s the things they do and how they treat everyone,” Minnie said.

“Well, in my book, Aqua and Stellae are number one,” Horace proclaimed. “You’ve got my heartfelt vote.”

“Thanks, Horace.” I said, smiling.

“We promise we’ll try to not let you down,” Aqua added.

Afterwards, Aqua and I were heading over to the town square again.

“You know, this really helped me take my mind off things,” I said, looking around.

“See? I told you it would help,” Aqua said, smiling back at me.

“And with a clear head, I was able to think… Maybe the whole reason why I got a bit worked up was because I didn’t want my intuition to be right… Terra’s family and I personally wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“The three of us did grow up together before Akari, Kira, and even Ven came along… We all share a strong bond.”

“But it seemed Terra wanted a stronger one with me because he saw me in a different light,” I said. “The stars mentioned some things a couple of times but I just shrugged it off. Didn’t want them to be right, though my gut re-enforced what the stars believed. And that, Aqua, sucks quite a bit.”

“Looks like both the stars and a woman's intuition can give the benefit of the doubt... and way better than just woman intuition alone…”

“Can confirm, it’s quite useful, but bad when it comes to unwanted situations. I don’t want them to be right at times… But then there’s destiny and it’s never left to chance, so my hands are tied.”

Aqua then looked at me with a worried expression. Noticing this expression, I perked up slightly. “Anyways, I should probably talk things out with Terra. Things could get rather ugly if I don’t... and no one wants to deal with two emotional keyblade wielders frolicking around and spreading possible havoc between each other.”

Aqua then smiled. “Looks like Stellae is coming back.”

“Absolutely,” I said, nodding. “And soon, better than ever. Thanks to you, of course.”

“I’m glad,” Aqua said, happily.

Why do I feel happy that she looks happy? I mean, she was trying to cheer me up, but maybe that’s why? Maybe… I shouldn’t rush and overthink this. Time will tell, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh that was a nice of Vanitas:) (Loved that pun brawl between the two of them tbh)
> 
> And yay Stellae is coming back! \\(^o^)/
> 
> Anywho... Regarding the final chapters to come of Part 2: Since the next chapters may have a mix of Olympus Coliseum and Deep Space... I've decided to release the chapters all in bulk this time around. This just means the end of Part 2 is near:) (And every world up until now will have their plots completed! Well... Except for main story worlds... And Neverland... But that's more of a Part 3 type of thing;) )
> 
> So stay tuned for the release of the next few chapters:)


	6. Heroes and Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Ventus’s POV**

“Wow, this place looks ancient,” I said, amazed at the distinctive architecture around us.

“Yeah, kinda like home if you really think about it. The Land of Departure is quite ancient itself,” Akari said, looking around.

“Just like all the other worlds,” I said. “It’s pretty amazing how everything is kept in good shape.”

She nodded, smiling. Why does her smile captivate me so much…?

Just then, we saw a satyr running past us. Wait what? 

“Huh?” I said in confusion.

“Oy, the kid’s relentless!” The goat man said.

“Let’s see what’s going on,” Akari said.

“Right,” I said, nodding.

We approached the satyr, but he jumped out of fear, screaming.

“I told ya, I’m booked solid. N-O spells forget it!” He said.

“Umm…” Akari said, just as confused as I was.

“Huh? And who in Halicarnassus are you? Can’t you see I’m busy?” The satyr retorted, not happy to see us.

“Hey, Phil! I’m all signed up! Phil!” A boy in a toga came running towards us.

“All right, Herc, I hear ya! Now would ya keep it down already,” the satyr said in a quiet tone.

After he said this, a soldier ran towards us as well.

“Beautiful… You happy now? You blew my cover!” The satyr told the boy in the toga.

“Okay, ‘fess up. I asked around, and everybody says you’re the guy. The trainer of heroes!” The soldier said to the satyr.

“True heroes!” Herc corrected.

“Really?” I asked.

“You can teach that?” Akari added to my question.

“‘Course he can. C’mon, Phil, please. I really wanna be a hero,” the soldier pleaded.

“Look, we’ve been through this… I got two words for you— student-teacher ratio!” Phil said.

I began to count with my fingers… Did he say three words? I looked over to Akari and she just shrugged. Glad we’re on the same page here.

“I already got my hands full with this one. C’mon, Herc,” Phil said as he started to walk away with Herc.

“I’m low-maintenance, I swear!” The soldier exclaimed.

Just then, a bunch of Unversed appeared in front of Herc and Phil.

“Unversed!” Akari and I said.

“Monsters, huh… Hey Phil! Watch this! I’ll show ya what I’m made of,” the soldier said.

“And I’ll help, too!” Herc said.

The four of us then fought the Unversed. After bashing them with heavy hits and some magic on our end, we managed to defeat all of them.

The four of us then approached Phil, who was sighing as he came to a decision. “Okay… Change of plans. The Games are comin’ up. So, I’m gonna watch both of your matches… then I’ll decide which of you rookies I wanna train.”

“Sweet! Thank you, thank you! I’m gonna go sign up right now,” the soldier said, before running off towards the Coliseum.

“The Games, huh? Sounds fun!” I said, looking at Akari.

“Yeah! Let’s go check it out,” Akari added.

We began to run towards the Coliseum, but Phil stopped us after a couple of steps. “Sorry kids, Captain Eager there just took the last spot.”

We stopped in our tracks. I looked over at Akari, disappointed. She looked sad, too.

“I don’t understand! Phil, I thought you were my trainer!” Herc said, confused.

“You wanna be a true hero, Herc? Then you’re gonna hafta go out there and show me that everything I’ve taught you so far is gonna pay off,” Phil said, before heading over to the Coliseum.

“But Phil…” Herc said in a sad tone.

“Oh… and no more trainin’ sessions for a while. Wouldn’t be fair if I helped you and not him.”

After Phil disappeared from sight, Akari and I went over to him.

“Hey, cheer up! So you gotta fight a couple of matches, no big deal. I’m Ventus.”

“And I’m Akari. Why don’t we help you train?”

“You’d both really do that for me?” Herc said in surprise.

“Sure,” I said, while Akari nodded.

“Thanks, Ventus, Akari. I’m Hercules. Herc for short.”

“Just call me Ven. You’re gonna do fine,” I said, before shaking hands with him. He also went over to shake Akari’s hand as well.

“Thanks. I’m gonna head over to the Coliseum and warm up. Meet me in the vestibule, okay?”

We both nodded. Herc then left, leaving Akari and me behind.

“Looks like training is going to be fun,” Akari said, looking towards me.

“Yeah, we should probably start sooner than later. Wouldn’t want to keep Herc waiting, right?” I said enthusiastically.

“Right,” Akari said, nodding with the same enthusiasm.

She then ran off. “I’ll race ya!”

“Hey, no fair!” I said, dashing behind her.

After racing for a few minutes, we made it to the Coliseum. Wow, she runs fast!

“You’re as… energetic as ever… Whew,” I said, clearly out of breath.

“You’re… not so bad yourself,” Akari said, also out of breath.

Herc then came over to us. “Hey you guys— Wow, you two look out of breath. Everything okay?”

“We were… just racing,” I said, feeling less tired. “We wanted to see who would get to the Coliseum first, but it looks like we had a tie.”

“You two must have a bunch of stamina then,” Herc concluded.

“Which is quite a good thing to have if we’re helping you train, right?” Akari commented.

Herc nodded. “Yeah! C’mon, let's head over to the training area.”

We then followed Herc into the training area. The main portion of his training mainly consisted of breaking some urns. It’s a really interesting way to train, especially if you want to see how many urns you can break in a short amount of time.

At some point, I noticed Phil watching us. But he turned to walk away after he noticed me glancing at him.

After some more training, we walked to the vestibule for a break.

“You want to become a true hero, huh?” I asked Herc as the three of us walked to the vestibule.

He stopped walking and turned towards me. “More than anything. See, my father is Zeus, the king of the gods up on Olympus.”

“Whoa! Herc, you’re a god?” Akari asked, amazed.

“No, no. I’m mortal,” Herc clarified. “When I was a baby, somebody stole me from my parents, and… figured out how to take away my godhood.”

“And this true hero thing?” I asked.

“It’s the only way I can become a god again. If I become a true hero, I can rejoin my father and go back to Olympus.”

“Wow…” Akari said.

“I guess you really got your work cut out for you!” I said.

“But what about you two? How come you’re both here?” Herc asked.

“We’re… We’re just trying to make some friends,” I said, looking over at Akari and then at Herc.

“Well, hey! You’ve both done that already,” Herc said.

“Huh?” Both me and Akari were a bit confused.

“C’mon, we’re friends, aren't we?”

I smiled at him. “You bet, Herc.”

“Yeah,” Akari said right after.

Just then the soldier from before entered the vestibule. Looks like he was coming back from town.

A few seconds after he arrived, Phil walked over from the training area to Herc and the soldier. “All right, you bunch of rookies. It’s time we go over the rules of the Games, so listen up. All the matches are divided into two brackets— one for the East and one for the West. The winners from each bracket go head-to-head in the championship match. Now, I signed you two up for the West… ‘cause they already got a heavy-hittin’ contender cleanin’ up over there in the East bracket. And if you wanna beat him, you’re gonna hafta hustle in there. Now move those sandals.”

The three of them then entered the arena.

“Heavy-hitting contender?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Wonder who that could be…” Akari said.

“Ven! Akari! C’mon!” Herc exclaimed.

“Oh. Okay!” Me and Akari responded back.

Wait, didn't we just say that at the same time? We both looked at each other with the same surprised expression. Seconds later we were laughing.

“Great minds think alike, huh?” Akari said, still laughing.

“No kidding,” I said, also laughing.

We then hurried along towards the arena.

After watching Herc and the soldier take down a bunch of Unversed, the five of us went to talk near the stands.

“Guess we made it,” I said to Herc.

“Yeah. And it’s all thanks to you and Akari,” Herc said.

“Good! The other kid’ll be happy to hear that,” Phil said, not amused.

“No! I need you most of all, Phil! How else am I gonna become a hero?”

“Hmph! ‘Bout time ya got it!” Phil said, before walking off.

The soldier then ran towards the three of us. “Whoever wins, no hard feelings.”

He held out his hand. Herc then shook his hand. “Course not. Holdin’ a grudge wouldn’t be very heroic.”

“Hey, just making sure,” the soldier said. “You’re not a hero yet.”

Herc laughs. “True.”

The two of them then went to the center of the stage and began to fight. After seeing them dodge and throw hits at each other for a while, I noticed that they were both equally strong.

“This is really close,” I said, amazed at how long they’ve been fighting.

“Yeah, there’s no telling who's going to win,” Akari said, impressed.

This kinda reminds me of Terra and Aqua sparring…

Just then, Phil came running towards the arena in a hurry. “Hey! We got trouble! There’s monsters loose in town and if they gate-crash the Games, you can forget about the match.”

“Real monsters?” Herc asked, shocked.

“We have to stop ‘em,” the soldier said.

“Leave the monsters to us. This match is too important!” I said, running off towards the exit.

This match is a lot like the Mark of Mastery Exam… I can’t let these monsters ruin this trial for them!

“Ven!” I heard Akari shout out to me. A few seconds later, she was running right next to me.

“Doesn’t this match remind you of the Mark of Mastery Exam that happened a while back? What if the match can determine something important and it’s stopped because of the Unversed?”

“You may be right,” Akari said. “Well, looks like some Unversed are gonna have to learn some manners on intruding.”

I nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

We then made it to the town, where we saw a few Unversed.

“You won’t get past us!” I said enthusiastically, before noticing even more Unversed showing up. “Huh!?”

“There’s too many of them!” Akari said. “This is insane!”

Moments later, we noticed a familiar face next to us..

“Herc!” Akari exclaimed.

“What about your match?” I said worriedly.

“Forget the match. No way I could let my friends fight alone. ‘Cause I’m a hero! I mean, ya know… I’m gonna be one. Come on, let’s finish this together!”

We then began to fight the Unversed. They were oddly in the shape of jellyfish. Good thing we were all quick enough to dodge their attacks, otherwise we might have been stung by them.

After we finished them off, I turned towards Herc. “Sorry that we made you lose that match, Herc.”

“We really wanted you to win,” Akari added.

“Aw, come on, you two don’t have to apologize. It was totally my decision.”

An Unversed suddenly appeared and began moving towards Herc. Luckily the soldier came up to the Unversed and defeated it. “What, you didn’t save any for me?”

“Hey, you’re here?” Herc asked, surprised.

“Hey, I’ve set my sights on being a hero, too. I just don’t run as fast, that’s all.”

“So you both threw the match?” I asked. “Who won, then?”

“I left first, so it’s not me,” Herc answered.

“Yeah, but I was only seconds behind you,” the soldier added.

“Still,” Herc said.

Phil then walked towards us. “Hey! I never said I’d coach the winner. All I said was I’d see the match, then decide. Look, bein’ a hero takes more than just muscle. Ya gotta have heart and care about people. And sure, you both get high marks for that. But this time, only one of you cared fast enough— and that makes all the difference.”

“Then that means…” Akari began to say, but was interrupted.

“Oh man, I was this close!” The soldier said in defeat. “Well, that’s life. I never really introduced myself.”

The soldier then took off his helmet, revealing a guy with spiky, black hair. “The name’s Zack. Congratulations, Herc.”

“Thanks, Zack,” Herc said.

“Yeah well, we’ll see if you’re still thankin’ him when I’m through with ya. You got a long road ahead of ya, champ,” Phil said.

Zack then started doing some squats. “Hey— don’t count me out. I’ve still got plenty of big dreams to go with my lousy luck!”

Herc and Zack then laughed for a bit.

Akari then looked over to Phil. When I noticed this, I looked over to her. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

She nodded. “Let’s go over there and ask.”

We went over to Phil for a moment. I started to speak. “Okay, be honest… You weren’t really gonna stop training Herc, were you?”

“Of course not. I know that kid’s gonna go the distance. But he was stuck in a rut. He just needed a little incentive. It’s Ventus and Akari, right? Well, thanks to you two, Herc here has really shaped up. I owe ya.”

“No worries, we’re actually glad,” Akari said.

“We made a really good friend. Somebody to share a laugh with. Like Terra, Aqua, Kira, and Stellae…” I said.

I then felt Akari’s hand on my shoulder. “We’ll patch things up. I’m sure of it.”

I nodded at her.

Me and Akari turned to leave, but Herc suddenly stopped us. “You’re both leaving?”

“Yeah,” Akari said, turning towards Herc.

I then turned towards him, too. “Our journey’s not over yet.”

“But you’ll visit, right?”

“We’ll stop by once you’re a true hero,” I said.

“Stop by once me and him are both heroes!” Zach said, full of enthusiasm.

“Oh, so you mean never come back?” I said, jokingly.

“Hey, watch it!” Zach said, before putting an arm around my neck in a playful manner. We all just laughed gleefully at the banter.

“Hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll both be great heroes very soon!” Akari said.

“Well, if the lady says so, then I’m even more hyped in becoming a hero,” Zach said, letting me go.

She giggled slightly. “Then we should leave them to it. Right, Ven?”

I nodded. “Yeah. We’ll see you guys soon!”

With that said, we walked away from them.

“You seemed confident,” I said to her, smiling.

“I mean, I have a good feeling. Not like Stellae’s good feeling, but it’s still something.”

She then looked towards the sky. “I just know they’ll become great heroes someday.”

“I really hope so,” I said, glancing at her before looking up as well.

Akari has such a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards others… I feel that it also includes life in general. To be honest, she’s different from anyone that I’ve ever met… I’m even excluding Terra, Aqua, Kira, and Stellae. She has such a captivating personality… One that makes me fall for her more and more each day. I felt that back at Maleficent's castle I made a confession, but in reality, I really haven't said those three words to her yet. I feel that the timing isn't right. But I want to tell her sometime soon. Things seem to be getting out of control, and I don’t want to lose my chances. I have to tell her soon… Otherwise… I feel that I won't be able to tell her anything at all.

* * *

**Vanitas’s POV**

From the top of one of the roofs in the city, we were looking at Ventus, Akari, and their other friend fighting off some of the Unversed. The Unversed look weak, but they’re actually quite deadly, being the poisonous little devils that they are. Too bad they were defeated quickly. “And I thought they would do some type of damage to them. Looks like the two of them are getting stronger.”

“Shouldn’t you be more focused on training ME than watching Ven and my sister beating some of YOUR monsters?”

Kira… This idiot… She should really watch her tone with me. Shouldn’t she know this by now? She’s just sitting near the edge of the building, minding her own business. Bad decision.

“Watch it. And besides, this gives me a good idea on their progress.”

“Why their progress?”

I smirked. “It just means that I can determine an even harder fight for you to go through. Five times the amount of those Unversed should be enough for you to handle, I assume?”

“Isn’t that a bit—?” She said, turning towards me.

“Too much? Not in the slightest. You had your break back in that other world. Time to get some serious training done. And lots of it.”

I then noticed everyone leaving to go to the Coliseum that was up ahead. Perfect.

“Once they’re out of sight, your training starts.”

“Let’s get this over with,” Kira said, not looking too enthusiastic about it.

I made a dark corridor as Kira began to stand up. After going through it, we appeared where Ventus and the others were fighting.

She then summoned her keyblade. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Someone’s eager,” I said, before summoning the amount of Unversed that I promised.

Kira looked shocked for a moment. “You literally summoned all of these— these jellyfish things!?”

“Five times the amount from earlier, as promised,” I said, before going over to one of the walls nearby to lean on it, arms crossed and all. “Now move those little legs of yours.”

Did she just roll her eyes at me? I swear… this brat is not going to hear the end of it.

Kira began fighting the Unversed, moving quickly and attacking them one clump after the other. Heh… Not bad. Could still use a lot more work though.

After a while, she began to look tired. Talk about weak—.

“Agh!” I heard her scream. An Unversed had hit her and she was about to fall. She at least managed to use her keyblade as a support while she continued to fight with weak magic. For some reason, she looked extremely pale, not to mention more tired than usual— Wait, hold on…

I raised my eyebrows slightly. Did she really get— Damn it, really? Ugh, such a pain…

I pushed myself off the wall slightly and walked towards her. “Stop.”

“H-Huh?” Kira said.

Seriously, why is she so weak? She even sounds weak as hell right now.

Just when I got to her, her knees had given in. She was on her knees and her breathing wasn’t getting any better. She then lost her grip on her keyblade, which caused her to forcefully sit on the floor.

“I would stop moving, if I were you. The more you move, the faster the poison will spread.”

I crouched down in front of her. “Not to mention you’re worn out. So I’d suggest staying still, unless you want to die an early death today.”

“P-Poison?! Those Unversed were poisonous?!” Kira said, leaning towards me, not happy about the whole “poisonous Unversed” situation. “Are you seriously trying to kill me?!”

“I said, stop moving,” I said, forcefully grabbing one of her arms. “Why did you think I came over? To mock your dying body?”

I then created some dark esuna and cura from the hand that was grabbing her arm. “I can’t train the dead.”

I then let go of her. Kira then began to recover quickly. She began to look less tired. “Seriously… That powder that the Unversed were releasing was going on non-stop. My healing magic is super weak, so I couldn’t heal its effects as fast. Plus, I’ve never really been poisoned before so I wouldn’t have known if I was poisoned…”

I stood up. “Seriously, you’re so useless.”

“Hey! At least I beat a bunch of Unversed!”

“Still not enough. There’s still a whole lot that have your name on them,” I said, looking over at the Unversed that I created before. There’s no way she was getting away with not training anymore today.

She just groaned, grabbing her keyblade and standing up as well. “Fine.”

I then began to walk back to the wall I was leaning on before.

“Oh, and Vanitas?” I heard her say.

I stopped for a moment and turned my head slightly towards her. “What?”

“Never thought I’d say this to you, but thanks,” she said.

My eyes widened slightly. Didn’t expect to hear THAT from her lousy mouth. She’s usually extremely cold towards me, which I personally prefer. So why am I taken aback so much by a simple thank you? Must be that I’ve never been thanked for something I guess. But still, it’s odd…

“Don’t get used to it,” I said, before looking back towards the direction that I was heading. “I need you alive. It’s as simple as that.”

I then continued to walk. Reaching the wall, I went back to my previous position. “Now finish cleaning up, I don’t have all day,” I said.

She didn’t roll her eyes at me this time. Instead, she nodded. “Got it.”

With that said, she continued her training.

It’s strange how I went to heal her when she was just getting affected by the poison and not later. That wasn’t like me. Not in the slightest. Yeah, I need to keep her alive because of Xehanort’s plans, but does it really mean that I need to put up with worrying about—? Wait, what am I saying? I couldn’t possibly be worried about her well-being. I just healed her so that she could finish today’s training and because otherwise I’d be in trouble with the Master.

… Besides, being soft like that isn’t my style. I’d be like Ventus and her sister, which would literally send shivers down my spine… So my feelings towards—. Ugh! Okay, I’m just gonna shut the hell up now, since this is making me go against what I’m thinking. And it won’t help me with Xehanort’s orders or with her training. I swear… If there’s a reason as to why I’m acting like this, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t even want to think about it. Because if it’s going to affect me in any way, we’re going to have a serious problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***One hiatus later due to life and other fanfics***
> 
> The beginning of the end is near! (Well, for Part II at least)
> 
> Let's see what happens to everyone after these next few worlds:)


	7. A Shocking Turn of Events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Terra’s POV**

We had arrived at the other world’s town. It looked rather ancient… Maybe from mythology?

“Mythological city… Very eye-catching,” Ezra commented.

Suddenly, we saw a boy in a toga fall down abruptly because of some Unversed. Running over to defend him, we summoned our keyblades and prepared to fight.

“Stay back,” I said.

“We got this,” Ezra added.

Fighting off the Unversed became a lot easier, not gonna lie. Looks like Ezra was right when it comes to minimizing battle time. It only took us a few minutes to defeat all of the Unversed.

After the fight, I went over and extended a helping hand towards the boy. “You okay?”

The boy took my hand in gratitude and stood up. “Yeah, thanks.”

Letting go of my hand, he continued. “Guess they were too much for me. I’m just gonna have to train harder. You’re both pretty tough— really handled those things. Are you here to enter the Games?”

“What games?” I asked.

“The “Games” games. To see who’s strongest! One day I’m gonna win ‘em all and become a true hero.”

“Herc, where are ya?” A man’s voice exclaimed. Looking over to where the voice was, it seemed like the satyr on top of the stairs was looking for someone. “Front and center right now, or I’m tackin’ on another 1,000 laps!”

Herc then turned back and panicked a bit. “Uh-oh. Gotta go. The Coliseum’s just up ahead. I hope I get to see you two fight there sometime!”

“A competition…” I contemplated. Maybe I should find out how strong I really am.

“You thinking of checking things out?” Ezra asked.

I nodded. “I want to see just how strong I really am. So maybe this is a good test of strength for me.”

“In that case, I’ll just join in the fight. And who knows, maybe I’ll get to fight you in the rink?”

I chuckled at this. “Then I hope to face off against you.”

We then headed towards the coliseum in the distance. After passing the multiple ancient buildings, we reached the coliseum gates and approached the rankings on the walls.

“This is it,” I said.

“How sad is this?” An unfamiliar voice said.

Ezra and I looked to the side, but we didn’t see anyone there.

“Pains me to see it,” the same voice said.

We then looked the other way, noticing a man with flaming blue hair.

“All that power going to waste,” the man continued.

“Who are you?” Ezra asked, hostility in his voice.

“Name is Hades, Lord of the Dead, god of the Underworld, yadda yadda, how ya doin’? Hey, lemme guess, you’re trying to put the kibosh on the darkness inside you. Am I right? Of course I’m right. Well, anyway, bad idea.”

“Wait, what?” I asked. What does he—?

“Okay, stay with me here— darkness is inside… everybody. Nothing to be ashamed of. You play nice with it, and darkness will be your best friend. But if you go and get all self-conscious and refuse to face it, the darkness will run over you like a debutante at a toga sale. And then where are you? Nowhere.”

“Now me, I look at you and I see potential,” Hades continued as he came up from behind me. “That’s right, kid. You got the potential to conquer the darkness inside you. And I’ll even give you some pointers. I mean, believe me, if anybody knows conquering, I know conquering.”

“Well, let’s hear it then, Mr. Underworld,” Ezra challenged, crossing his arms.

Hades just rolled his eyes at Ezra and started to walk away before he continued. “Easy. You sign up for the Games. I know, I know. “Please, Lord Hades, the Games?” But hey, you would be surprised what you can learn in the heat of battle. And don’t worry. I’ll be right there to guide you every step of the way. I’m kinda what you’d call an expert in the art of darkness. Oh, decide fast. This is a limited-time offer.”

And with that said, Hades walked away.

“Him? An expert in the art of darkness? Don’t make me laugh,” Ezra scoffed before turning to me. “Terra, I won’t stop you if you want to enter the games through this guy. All I ask is for you to include me in this offer of his.”

“You don’t trust him?” I asked.

“I’ll swing that question right back at you: do you?”

I remained silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. “All right, I’ll hear you out. Let’s go talk to him.”

We then headed into the coliseum’s vestibule. Once we were inside, we saw Hades waiting next to the arena’s entrance.

“Ready to close the deal?” Hades asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “But only on one condition: we both enter the games as a team.”

“Sorry, kid, that’s not part of the deal,” Hades refuted.

“We come as a package. So it’s either both of us, or the deal won’t happen,” I argued.

He then sighed in annoyance, as if weighting his choices. “All right, fine, whatever.”

“I’m curious: when are you going to teach him about the whole “conquer the darkness” thing?” Ezra asked, a sly smirk on his face.

“Hold your chariot horses. You would not believe the bureaucracy involved with these things. Names?”

“Terra.”

“Ezra.”

“Kinda earthy and service-like, but all right,” Hades commented, before looking us over and jotting stuff down. “Now… height and weight… What’s this? “Favorite god”? Pfft, come on. “Hades.” There, ba-boom. Easy peasy.”

“Whatever floats your boat,” Ezra sarcastically said to me as he rolled his eyes.

Hades then approached us. “I sense that you’re already starting to get all warm and fuzzy with that darkness inside you. It’s sweet, really. And hey, by the time you win the final match here… you’ll have figured out how to conquer it for good.”

He then put an arm around my shoulders. “And don’t worry, anything goes wrong, I’ll make it all go away. Service with a smile.”

“I got it,” I said as I elbowed Hades off of me and walked into the arena with Ezra.

“Talk about handsy,” Ezra commented. “Besides, I won’t let anything get out of hand for you. You can count on that.”

“I know, and I’ve got your back too,” I said.

He nodded. “Then let’s show them what we’re made of.”

Once we reached the arena and readied ourselves with our keyblades, the Games began. Raid after raid of Unversed, we managed to defeat them in record time, the crowd going wild after each round. After several matches, we were finally in the final round.

“How are you holding up?” Ezra asked.

“This is nothing,” I answered. “I just hope this helps with overcoming the darkness in some way.”

“I kinda figured you’d accept his offer to find other ways to conquer the darkness,” Ezra admitted. “I guess you needed a second opinion?”

“It never hurts to have more than one tactic.”

“That’s good thinking but...” Ezra said seriously, “be on your guard with Lord Hothead, all right?”

“Gotcha,” I affirmed with a nod.

Just then, a soldier was walking towards us. Once he was a few feet away, he drew his sword, ready to fight. Both of us charged at the soldier, dealing heavy attacks with our keyblades while the soldier tried blocking the attacks and dealing heavy blows as well. It was only after a combined keyblade attack that the soldier managed to collapse on the ground, his helmet rolling to my feet.

Ezra and I nodded at each other, before turning to leave.

We then heard something behind us, causing me and Ezra to stop in our tracks and look back in shock. The soldier was emanating a dark aura from his body and was preparing for battle once again. He then charged towards us, rage in his eyes. Ezra and I managed to block and dodge the incoming attacks in time.

“Stop it!” Ezra exclaimed.

“The match is over!” I added.

Our keyblades then clashed with his sword, the soldier not wanting to give in.

He was a push over when we fought him. What’s going on with him?

“It’s not… me…” The soldier said.

“What?” I asked in confusion.

“I’m not… doing this…”

I gasped.

“He’s being controlled!” Ezra beat me to it.

“Huh? So, what do ya think? You like my new super-warrior? See— right here, this— it’s the power of darkness. Coulda been yours. Still could, if you open up to it.”

“Hades! You were just playing me!” I accused, before pushing away the soldier’s sword. “The darkness… will never have me!”

The soldier readied himself for another brawl. “Help me… You’ve gotta… set my heart free…”

And we did just that. We fought the soldier vigorously, dodging his attacks left and right. At some point, we were about to him from opposite sides of the arena, but a poof of smoke appeared behind Ezra. Hades!

“Peekaboo,” he said, before patting on Ezra’s back with a hand filled with darkness.

“Agh!” Ezra shouted, almost collapsing on the spot as his body emanated a dark aura as well.

“Ezra!” I shouted at Ezra as I collided blades with the soldier.

“Don’t worry about me! Finish… this fight!” Ezra exclaimed, trying to hold back the darkness as he fell to his knees.

I then turned my attention to the soldier. I need to end this fast… For Ezra’s sake!

I then went one on one with the soldier. Lucky for me, he was already worn down by a lot thanks to Ezra. It was only a matter of time before he collapsed on the ground in defeat, the darkness dissipating from his body.

Ignoring the cheering crowd, I ran to Ezra’s side, worried. “What did he do to you?”

“The same thing... he did to... our opponent over there…” He tried to do a hand sign with both hands, but it seemed to be too difficult for him to do.

I was about to reach out but Ezra stopped me as he spoke. “N-No, I got this. I’ve... been through worse.”

I shook my head before grabbing his wrists and stopping his forced movements. “I told you I’d have your back. So please, let me help you.”

He stared at me for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. “Full circle… counterclockwise... from my perspective, then... bring them…. close. I’ll... do the rest.”

I did as I was told, making his hands go in a counterclockwise movement before bringing them close together. Just then, a magical aura then appeared, causing the dark aura to fade in a matter of seconds.

“How—?” I started to ask, letting go of him, but Hades seemed to have enough of this.

“Forget it. It looks like I bet on the wrong dark horse. That kid doesn’t have what it takes to handle darkness,” Hades said, before leaving the arena.

I was to ask Ezra what he did, but it seemed like the soldier was starting to come back to his senses.

“I’ll tell you later,” Ezra said as he stood up with ease, as if he wasn’t weakened by the darkness that Hades gave him earlier. Looks like he knew what I was going to ask.

We then approached the soldier.

“You gonna make it?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah. I’m finally free. Where is—” The soldier began to ask.

“He’s gone,” Ezra answered.

“Man, how could I let a guy like him control me? I’ll never live it down!”

I then extended a hand towards him. Accepting the helping hand, the soldier stood up. After letting go of my hand, he continued. “Thanks, um…”

“Terra.”

“Ezra.”

“Thanks, Terra, Ezra. I’m Zack,” he said, before squinting his eyes at us. He then smiled brightly at us. “Yup. Definitely. Terra, Ezra, you’re both exactly what I pictured a hero would be. Not the way you look… There’s something else about you.”

I then turned my back to him. “Well, I’m no hero, trust me.”

“You kidding? Listen to those cheers, man. You don’t get to decide if you’re a hero or not. They do. And they’ve already made up their mind. Whether you like it or not, you’re their hero. And mine, too.”

He sighed. “It’s too bad, I really wanted to fight you fair and square.”  
I had already turned to him again and tried to cheer him up. “Maybe someday, Zach.”

After exchanging a few more words, Ezra and I exited the arena. Once we reached the entrance to the coliseum, we stopped for a bit.

“I really appreciate what you did back there, Terra,” Ezra said. “Thank you.”

“What are friends for?” I said, a smile on my face.

Ezra smiled slightly before frowning. “What I did back there… was reverse time on myself.”

“You mean you reversed the state of your heart?”

He nodded. “Correct. I knew I could control time when I was younger… So whenever my heart was given some extra darkness, I knew how to retaliate to some degree. Though the technique took way too much time to master…”

“What do you mean by given? Did someone give your heart darkness?”

“Yes,” Ezra affirmed. “I would receive it by force… all because he saw my heart’s light shining far too bright.”

“He”? Does he mean…?

“I’ve… been meaning to show you something”, Ezra continued, averting his gaze before looking straight at me once again, “Since that happened and all.”

Extending his hands, I knew immediately what he meant. I placed my hands on his and he showed me another memory.

* * *

_I was in that barren wasteland again, only this time, I was seeing through the eyes of a younger Ezra. I could tell by the smaller length of his bangs. And right in front of me, was Master Xehanort extending a hand towards Ezra._

_“Do as I say, boy,” Master Xehanort ordered. “Come back to my side and be my pupil.”_

_I could feel Ezra shaking his head. “I won’t. I’m already happy where I am right now. Master Eraqus’s teachings—”_

_“Are nothing but rubbish. He only teaches you about the goodness of light and not about the goodness of darkness.”_

_“That’s what you think, but not me,” Ezra said, before turning to leave. “You’re wasting your time, old man.”_

_“You dare show disrespect to your elders?” Master Xehanort sounded enraged._

_“Nah, I’m showing my disrespect towards you,” Ezra scoffed as he walked away._

_“Then you leave me no choice,” Master Xehanort said, before Ezra felt something on his back seconds after._

_“Agh!” I could feel his body stiffen as the darkness engulfed his heart. He then fell to his knees. “What are you—?!”_

_“I’m only giving you what’s rightfully yours,” Master Xehanort said in a harsh tone. “Now go. Pack your things and tie up any loose ends that you may have.”_

_I could feel Ezra lose control of his body, as if the darkness has taken over for him. He then rose to his feet. “Yes… Master…”_

* * *

_I then witnessed a second memory. It was the same barren land, and Ezra had emerged from a dark corridor. He was still filled with darkness, but his expression was filled with regret. He felt his legs give out, making him fall to his knees._

_Ezra tried to clench his fists and, to his surprise, was able to do so in a shaky manner. He then had an idea. ‘‘This has to work…’_

_He then tried to do a hand sign on himself. It was the same one from the arena, only this time his hands were shaking a lot more, as if the darkness was fighting his forced movements._

_Once Ezra finished the movement, he felt the darkness inside his heart fade away slowly. I could feel Ezra’s eyes widen in surprise. ‘It didn’t come back this time.’_

_He sighed in relief, but this relief was replaced with a look of concern. ‘How did the darkness put me into such a tight situation…? I almost risked her life.’_

_Ezra then clenched his fists with even more force, as if he was telling himself that he was in control. “But what I did… It’s not any better.”_

_He then stood up and placed a hand where his heart is. “Forgive me… I promise to make things right.”_

* * *

I then came back to the present. Ezra had a serious expression on his face, but I could feel a hint of sadness in it as well.

“You lost control,” I said in bewilderment.

He nodded, retrieving his hands. “Not my proudest moment, but Xehanort had my hands tied. And darkness made me do something that I regret up to this day.”

“Looks like we’re more alike than I thought,” I pondered openly, a hand to my chin.

“...Now do you understand where I’m coming from?” Ezra asked. He then placed a hand where his heart is. “I want to make things right.”

“Ezra…” I could only mutter.

He managed to smile a bit before he continued. “I’m confident in your ability to make things right, Terra. Just as I am confident in myself in making things right as well.”

I smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Then let’s work hard at that.”

“Right,” Ezra said with a nod.

Moments later, we left the coliseum behind and continued on our journey.

* * *

**Kira’s POV**

“I have a good feeling that we’re gonna get caught here,” I said, as I eliminated a different type of Unversed. Apparently this one multiplies. Great…

We were in a giant spaceship’s launch deck, which had its launching station closed off so that no one would trespass. Apparently we DID trespass via dark corridor so technically… Yeah, anywhere can be trespassed like this.

“Less chatting, more bashing,” Vanitas retorted back in his usual tone.

He then summoned more Unversed of the same kind. Oh this is just FANTASTIC.

I threw my keyblade like a boomerang towards them. As the keyblade was going around, I threw some magic at the Unversed. For some reason some spells came out darker than usual… Maybe it’s because of how close we are to the darkness of the Lanes Between?

After I grabbed my keyblade again, I decided to give it another whirl. I threw my keyblade so that it would cover a greater radius. For some reason, I heard a click when the keyblade reached half-way. I ignored it, as I continued attacking Unversed.

Then an alarm went off. “ _Launch deck entrance opening.”_

Wait what?!

“Idiot! You trying to show off made that keyblade of yours press the button that opens up the launch deck’s entrance!” Vanitas said, overly annoyed.

“Huh!? So you mean that click from earlier was—” I said, but the strong gusts of winds caused by the launch deck’s entrance opening made me shield myself rather than argue over a simple button. From what I could tell, Vanitas was also shielding himself. As the entrance became larger, I could feel the tension of all the anti-gravity trying to pull me in. Feeling my feet begin to slide towards the entrance, I widened my eyes in a panic. Wait! I can’t go out there without my armor! I won’t be safe from the darkness if I don’t have it! I’ll—!

I felt my feet leave the ground. Moments later I saw the spacecraft getting farther away from me as I was pulled deeper into space. I screamed. But I shut my mouth, clasping my hands onto my mouth. If we were discovered already, then me screaming will only alert others of our location and we’d be in deeper trouble!

On another note: I’m out in space, going at who knows what speed, without any armor! Will I die like this?!

I then saw a figure emanating darkness coming towards me at a faster speed. Vanitas?!

Getting close enough, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him and his darkness. Seconds later, I felt his free arm wrap around my waist and the arm that grabbed by arm grabbed the back of my head. What the—?! I literally thought he was going to grab me by the arm to pull me back or summon a portal or something but… This?! I felt my face turn red… For some reason?! Seriously, I give up… What is this feeling? The suspense is killing me!

“Don’t go throwing that keyblade of yours so freely like that. Be more precise on what you’re doing and think things through,” Vanitas said. “That way you can avoid stuff like this.”

He sounded a lot more calm and… Less cold? Is that even possible for him?

“Y-Yeah,” I said, taking in the whole space scenario without my armor, the shock of being pulled into space, and being in the embrace of my oh-so-hated kidnapper.

I felt the two of us decrease in speed. Maybe because Vanitas was applying some sort of force to stop us all together? Anyways, it worked, and seconds after he went in a backwards motion to take us back to the ship.

Arriving at the ship, I felt that he took a few seconds longer than I thought to let go of me. Once he did, he crossed his arms. “Seriously… You keep causing problems one after the other.”

I clenched my fists as I looked down, my flustered face becoming more calm. “It’s not like I plan getting into trouble.”

I then felt one hand on my head, which caused me to look up at him.

“Just avoid being reckless like that and you’ll be fine,” Vanitas said. “I was able to get you out of a bind right now, but don’t count on me saving you again in the future.”

He then removed his hand from my head, moving it back to his side. Seriously… What was that?! He’s being way too touchy and my face keeps bursting into flames! I need to keep calm… It’s the only way to get through this.

“I understand,” I said, trying to not sound flustered as I looked at him. “Besides, counting on you to save me next time? That would be a surprise in itself.”

He stood there in silence for a second, before turning away from me. “Yeah, it would be.”

Just now… Why did Vanitas sound so strange? Maybe hurt or… sad? It’s not like him to sound like that so maybe… I guess the word I’m looking for is… Distant? Maybe? Damn, why am I even contemplating this?!

He then walked away, heading over towards the wall where the button that I pressed was located. He leaned on the wall right next to the button, summoning Unversed in the process. “Let’s continue training.”

I nodded at him, feeling that dwelling in my thoughts would only cause me to lose focus. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole situation had affected us both in some way… I just want to know what’s going on with me… And I hate to admit it, but I want to know what I’m feeling right now… Because this confusion is truly getting to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many unexpected turn of events in this chapters, amirite?:D Ezra seems to be opening up even more and Kira is a confused being... Stay tuned for more:)


	8. Fire, Ice, and Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Ezra’s POV**

I grunted as I opened my eyes. What the hell just—?

I then sat up with a jolt, looking at my surroundings. Am I in a cell?

Just then, shots could be heard from outside. Rising to my feet, I quickly approached the glass that separated the cell from what seemed to be a main containment area. Looks like these pests are at it again…

“Take cover! Leave it to me to handle these fiends,” one of the guards said. “Whatever you are, you’re under arrest… eventually!”

Yeah, more like “never” if you’re the one doing the arresting. Seriously, first in space and now here… Can’t we get a break— wait, where’s Terra?

“Unversed!” I heard a voice say nearby. Found him.

I summoned my keyblade and unlocked the cell, and it looks like he did the same. Reaching the main floor of the area, I looked to the side. Seems like Terra’s ready to take care of business as well.

“I was wondering where you were,” Terra said.

“Looks like they didn’t want collaboration between captives in the same cell,” I said, a smirk forming on my face. “Shall we apprehend these intruders for breaking and entering?”

“Gladly,” Terra answered, before he started attacking the Unversed.

Some were small and weak, some were large and annoying. This kid must enjoy releasing havoc, considering the many types of Unversed that he’s made.

After taking care of these pests, someone seemed to speak to us. “Very impressive display.”

Looking towards the voice’s direction, we noticed an alien inside of a cell.

“Seems like this place has its criminals,” Terra commented.

“Looks like it,” I acknowledged, before turning towards the room’s exit. “Come on, let’s try to find a way out of here. We wouldn’t want to be captured again by these guys. Too much of a hassle.”

After Terra nodded, the same alien quickly stopped us. “Wait! You two help! I have been imprisoned on ridiculous charges!”

“Is that so?” Terra said.

“Do tell,” I added, not really convinced.

“I am innocent scientist who created galaxy’s most destructive— uh… constructive species of all times. Why my experiment could annihilate creatures you fought so hard! He is bulletproof, fireproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects 3,000 times his rather diminutive size. And for reasons preposterous, the Federation Council fears him. They take him away from me and throw me here in small, stuffy, rather badly lit cell.”

“Because he’s so powerful?” Terra asked.

“Exactly. Everyone always get antsy in pantses when somebody more powerful is in the neighborhood. You understand, perhaps? We must make to rescue him, or he’ll be banished to far reaches of space!”

I crossed my arms as I looked at Terra. “Should we hear him out? Your call.”

“He may be wronged in some way, so I think we should.”

“All right, but don’t let your guard down,” I said, glancing over at the alien. Changing destructive with constructive is a bit too suspicious.

Terra nodded, before turning to the alien’s cell. “Okay then. Take us to him.”

After Terra unlocked the cell with his keyblade, the alien stepped out.

“Experiment 626,” the alien began to say. “Is name I give to adorable, fluffy creature you are helping for to rescue. And I am genius scientist who created him, Dr. Jumba Jookiba.”

“I’m Terra.”

“Name’s Ezra.”

“Pleasure is all ours,” Jumba said, before turning towards the exit. “626 is this way. Hurry!”

We had to go through different corridors of the ship to reach Experiment 626’s containment chamber. And the Unversed were not cooperating at all. Seems like this place is lacking security personnel… How this ship is still intact, I have no clue.

Reaching the experiment’s chamber, we saw a blue alien with a red suit and… four arms?

“Amazing, is he not? Such tremendous power in such itty-bitty package. Truly, he is the one and that’s the only— the mightiest creature in all of galaxy,” Jumba said as he approached the floating chamber that held Experiment 626. He then spun the chamber around and stopped it after a couple of spins. “And his only, singular instinct— to destroy everything he touches! See?”

“What!?” Terra exclaimed in disbelief.

Just then, it seemed that Jumba had pressed a button to set Experiment 626 free. Noticing his freedom, Experiment 626 looked around in amazement before jumping towards us. What the—?

Experiment then crawled all over Terra before leaping to the ceiling. He was holding something orange that looked star-like.

Terra then began to check his pockets before looking up at Experiment 626 again. “When did you— Give that back!”

“Too late, is already marked for destruction,” Jumba declared.

“No, stop! My friend gave me that!” He said in a panic as he extended his hand towards Experiment 626. He then gasped slightly as he retreated his extended hand, as if realizing something.

““Friend”? Are you joking?” Jumba asked in disbelief, before falling on the floor and laughing in merriment. “Such concept is totally lost on 626!”

Experiment 626 seemed to be thinking for a moment, before he dropped the charm to the ground and crawled away.

I walked over and picked up the charm. It’s actually very sturdy, and not as fragile as I thought.

“Here,” I said, giving it back to Terra.

“Thanks,” Terra said, taking it in his hand. “Funny… This whole time I’ve been telling myself I want to be stronger, more independent… But the second I let my heart do the talking… I find out how little I really know myself. And how much I miss them.”

He then turned to Jumba. “That experiment of yours… You sure about him? Maybe, in his heart, he wants friends just like the rest of us.”

I couldn’t help but place a hand to my chin. “You may be onto something there… It may not be too far-fetched.”

“Impossible! Pshah! He has no actual feelings— only destructive instincts I have carefully chosen for him. Or perhaps you need another demonstration of my evil geniusness!” Jumba said, before taking out a green ball and putting it inside a flask filled with water.

The ball began to shine, and before we knew it, an electric alien appeared before us.

Terra and I summoned our keyblades and prepared for the inevitable fight. Just then, a thought came to mind. “Terra, let’s try wearing him down.”

“You have a plan?” Terra asked.

I nodded. “I kinda liked this little guy in a ball. Let’s take him back in time.”

With that said, I rushed towards the enemy and landed a strike. It was then that the alien darted towards the center of the room and launched electric explosions towards us. We managed to dodge and attack it with ranged attacks from time to time before I ran to one side of the room. “Terra, throw him over!”

“Got it!” Terra shouted, before throwing his keyblade towards the alien. The keyblade managed to fling the alien over to me with ease. As the alien flew towards me, I did the time-reversal hand movement towards the alien, making him revert back into a little ball.

Jumba then approached the ball, falling to his knees as he sighed. “Oh… You’ll be all right, little one.”

After dismissing our keyblades, Terra and I walked over to where Jumba was. We then saw Experiment 626 coming back to us. And it looks like Jumba noticed him as well.

“What is it? Why have you returned?” Jumba asked Experiment 626.

He just made some incomprehensible noises.

“Maybe he’s wondering what a friend is,” Terra said, before walking towards Experiment 626.

“Ridiculous!” Jumba refuted.

“You’d be surprised, Doc,” I said to him as I glanced at him.

Terra then reached Experiment 626. “My name is Terra.”

“Ter… ra…”

“Yes. I can’t explain friendship. When you feel it, you’ll know it.”

He then looked over to me. “Take me and Ezra for example. When I’m with him, I feel like we’re friends.”

“Ez… ra….”

I smiled at Terra and nodded. Having a friend again after being alone for such a long time… It makes me truly happy.

“Not if I have any say in matter!” Jumba intervened. “You are only meant to think about what it is you will destroy next. Now, I fix what is wrong with you.”

Experiment 626 then began to complain, before we heard a “Red Alert” coming from the ship’s security system. Looks like they finally discovered our escape.

Experiment 626 then began to leave the room in a hurry.

“Well, we can’t stay here and get caught,” I said, approaching Terra.

“Right,” Terra said, before he summoned his keyblade and opened a portal.

We then summoned our armors and Keyblade Gliders and escaped the ship.

* * *

**Aqua’s POV**

After some traveling, Stellae and I made it to a world that looked Greek-like. It was truly a sight to take in as we walked through the Coliseum gates.

But then some Unversed appeared, making us summon our keyblades.

“Stand back, sweetcheeks. I’ll take care of this,” a satyr said, jumping between us and the Unversed. Looking at us, he gave us a thumbs up. Um… Awkward?

He then ran away after looking at the giant Unversed in front of him. “Herc, they’re all yours!”

A boy with a toga then ran up to us and went into a stance, ready to fight the Unversed with us.

After fighting the countless Unversed in the area, the satyr came back.

“Oy! Those wackos almost made gyros outta me!” The satyr said.

“Well, maybe if you weren’t trying to show off…” Herc said.

“Who asked you, kid? You’ll understand more when you’re older,” the satyr said.

“And stronger…”, Herc added. ”Strong enough to be a hero.”

“You think being strong is the same as being a hero?” I asked.

“Sure— mostly. Look at how strong Terra is, and he’s champion!” he answered.

“Terra?” I asked, confused.

So Terra’s here? If that’s the case, it might be a good idea for Stellae to see him so that they can talk things out.

“So sugarcakes…” the satyr said to me. “You got any plans for later? You know, I’ve trained a few heroes in my time. Maybe I could recite ya a little epic poetry.”

I internally sighed. Men… They never change.

“Do you really know Terra?” Stellae asked the satyr, to my surprise and salvation.

“Of course I do. He’s the local hero everybody’s going gaga for— Oh, now I get it. You’re one of his fans. Both of you are. Everywhere I go it’s Terra-this, Terra-that… More like Terra-bull.”

“Oh no, you see, we just want to track him down,” I intervened.

“Yeah, tell me about it, sister. You two and the rest of Greece! Kid shows up outta nowhere… goes and wins the first Games he ever enters, dazzling the whole town… and then the nudnik up and vanishes!”

“Everybody says Terra’s the real thing, a true hero,” Herc said. “I can’t wait till I’m that tough.”

“Pfft, right. He’s so tough that he turned the last schlemiel who faced him into a raving yahoo,” the satyr said.

“Come on, Phil, be nice,” Herc said.

Wait, so that means…

“So you’re telling us he isn’t here,” I said.

“Whoa, not so fast. He may not be here right now, but ya never know. He could always decide he’s gonna show up for the Games,” Phil said.

“Yeah… To defend his title,” Herc added.

“And if you two enter, there’s always a change you might run into him,” Phil continued. He began to walk a bit. “I got an idea. I’ll sign you two up myself. And if you both need a trainer, I’d be more than happy to put you two trough the ropes.”

“But Phil… I had to practically beg you to agree to train me,” Herc complained.

“Shh! Pipe down, kid! You and them ain’t got the same attributes, if ya know what I mean.”

“You know, you’re right,” I heard Stellae say. “Please sign us up for the Games. My name is Stellae.”

I didn’t expect her to do this… Maybe her mind is more at peace than I thought.

“And I’m Aqua. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Now, let’s start with a few basics—,” Phil began to say.

“Thanks, but we won’t need a trainer,” Stellae said.

“I agree,” I added, nodding. She’s got a point there. We HAVE been training under Master Eraqus for years, so us fighting in a tournament should be a breeze. Besides, I can’t stand his flirting. Too awkward.

“Bah! Women— never changes. So I suppose ya still want me to go and get you two signed up. Meet me in the vestibule when you’re both ready,” Phil said, before walking off towards where the vestibule is.

“Looks like Terra might be here,” I said, facing her.

She nodded. “Yeah, plus we really need to talk about this… and soon.”

Stellae was silent for a few seconds. “… Aqua, I’m getting a bad feeling for what the future holds…”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“I can’t really know for certain… But from what the stars are saying, there’s some sort of ominous feeling that I can’t ignore… It’s been a message that I have been listening to for a while and it’s making me uneasy.”

“Well, whatever the future holds, I’m sure we’ll all be alright,” I said in a reassuring tone.

“Yeah…” Stellae said, averting her eyes from mine. “I really hope so.”

“Hey, let’s work with what the present holds for now. Who knows, maybe the future will be different? It’s not set in stone after all.”

“Right,” Stellae answered, a gentle smile on her face. “Thanks for that, Aqua.”

I smiled, shaking my head. “No worries. The future can be scary at times, but there’s always the hope of things turning out alright.”

She laughed a bit before tugging at my arm playfully. “Okay, enough sad talk, let’s head over to the vestibule. These Games could actually be quite fun.”

“Alright,” I said, laughing along with her as she pulled me towards the vestibule. Glad to hear Stellae being Stellae.

We then headed over to the vestibule and Phil had told us that he signed us up in a team. I didn’t really mind this at all. Two keyblades are better than one when it comes to combat after all.

After some rounds, we managed to reach the final round. We decided to leave the arena and vestibule for some fresh air.

“All that’s left is the final…” Stellae said.

“And still no sign of Terra,” I said, wondering if he was even here at all. “The guy we’re supposed to fight is someone else named Zack.”

We turned around, only to see a boy with spiky black hair. “Aqua and Stellae, right? Hey, I’m Zack. Your opponent in the final. Man, finally! Once I beat you both I get to take on Terra!”

“Terra? Why?” Stellae said, confused.

“I don’t understand. Are you saying there’s another match after the final?” I asked, equally as confused.

“Uh-oh. Guess you two didn’t get the memo. Oh, Phil! Would you tell them the rules?” Zack asked Phil, who was approaching us with Herc.

“Fine, here’s how it is. The Games are divided into two brackets— you got your East, you got your West. The winners from each bracket face off in the championship match. Now, right now you are competing in the East and we got no idea about the other side. For all we know, your boy Terra could be crusin’ through over in the West.”

“Then we shouldn’t be fighting matches here,” Stellae said. “We should be over there looking for him.”

“No… you both, uh… can’t! It’s not allowed. Athletes are expressly forbidden from watchin’ matches in the other bracket.”

“Did he just make that up?” Herc asked Zack.

“How should I know?” Zack replied to him.

“All right, fine!” Phil said in defeat. “Look, you gotta just stay and fight this match. The two athletes I entered defaulted before they made it to the top. Give a guy a break. I got a reputation.”

“Hey, do it for us, too,” Zack added.

Stellae and I looked at each other.

“Let’s cut him some slack,” Stellae said. “After all, Terra might be our next opponent after this battle.”

I nodded at her. We then turned to Phil.

“All right, then. We’ll finish what we started,” I said.

“You both will? Oh, the gods are smilin’ on me today! I’ll be waitin’ for ya two in the vestibule. Just tell me when you’re both ready to go,” Phil said as he started to leave.

“A match between Zack, Aqua, and Stellae? This I can’t miss,” Herc said, excited.

“Ix-nay on the atchin’ way. You got trainin’ to complete,” Phil said to Herc.

“Oh, that’s right…” Herc said. “Well, good luck, guys. I’ll see you around.”

Herc then ran off.

“Aqua, Stellae, give it your best out there,” Zach said.

“Likewise,” Stellae said.

“You too,” I said.

“I am so fired up!” Zack said, before he did some squats.

… Okay?

“Zack, Terra is a friend of ours,” I said. “How exactly is it that you know him?”

“He saved my life,” Zack said, as he continued to do squats. “During the last Games… this dude named Hades tried to make Terra his pawn of darkness… and he used me to do it. He had some kind of magic or something that made me crazy, gave me… weird powers that I turned against Terra. They even affected Terra’s friend, Ezra… Though he didn’t let that power get to him.”

With a final squat, he stood upright. “But you know what? Terra freed me and Ezra. And he didn’t need the darkness to do it.”

“I had no idea…” I said.

“Yeah, who knew…” Stellae said. She seems deep in thought... But then she focused on Zach. “Zach, you said someone named Ezra was with him?”

“Yup,” Zach nodded. “He came along with Terra and competed in The Games with him. You know him?”

Stellae shook her head. “No… I’ve just heard that name before.”

“Gotcha,” Zach said understandably. “Well, that’s enough with the drama. I guess I’ll see you both in the ring, huh?” Zack said, before heading over to the vestibule.

“Looks like Terra had quite a time here… At least he managed to free Zack and Terra’s friend,” Stellae said, before looking down. “It’s strange… As we were talking to him, I could hear distorted signals nearby… That’s not a good sign.”

“Stellae,” I said, “You said you heard the name Ezra before. Why is that?”

“... It was one day, many years ago,” Stellae began to explain. “I remember waking up in my room and, for some reason, my father was watching over me. It was after I woke up that he mentioned something about someone named Ezra. He’s apparently an old friend of his. And given how that’s not a common name, I’d say Terra’s been hanging around my father’s friend.”

“I see,” I contemplated. “Well, if it’s Master Eraqus’s friend, then we can trust that Terra’s in good hands.”

Stellae nodded. “Of course. And not gonna lie, I’d like to meet him someday.”

“If we find Terra, we might just run into him,” I remarked.

Stellae smiled. “I’m crossing my fingers on that. After all, we may find them after this match. ”

“If it gets too rough on you, you can take it easy and rest,” I said, smiling. “I can manage the fighting.”

Stellae shook her head. “It should be fine. The signals are not as strong right now.”

I’m worried that later might be different though…

“Well… All right, then. Let’s head over to the arena,” I said, before the two of us walked towards the vestibule.

Already in the arena, we faced Zack in combat.

“I promised Terra I’d face him,” Zack said, taking out his sword. “Fair and square.”

“The friendship between boys… It almost makes me jealous,” I said, keyblade in hand.

“Lucky for us, we have girl power on our side,” Stellae said, flipping her hair with one hand as she held her keyblade with the other. “Don’t get jealous of us now.”

“Let’s fight!” Stellae and I said in unison.

The fight was intense, with both Stellae and I swinging our keyblades at him and casting some powerful magic. In the end, both of us were victorious.

“Ugh, I lost!” Zack said, falling on the ground after his defeat.

He then got up. “I’ve got a long ways to go if I’m gonna become a hero.”

Suddenly, a man with blue skin and a flame on his head appeared before us.

“Really— it’s you? Here I thought I’d drop in to see which muscle-head was up next, and… Holy hydras! It’s just two little girls, two little lassies, a little bluebird with a tiny chickadee,” the man said, looking at us.

“Hades!” Zach exclaimed. Guess we know who Hades is now.

“I’m sorry, is that a mosquito? Where did I put that bug spray?” Hades continued.

“Mosquito!?” Zack said, offended.

Stellae then held her head, her legs slightly giving in. Luckily I was fast enough to grab a hold of her and keep her standing. “Stellae!”

It must be the signals again… This isn’t good. It must be because…

I then looked back at Hades. “So you’re Hades. You used Zack and almost Ezra, and tried to cast Terra into the darkness.”

“So I take it you’re both acquainted with the spineless chickenheart,” Hades said.

“Terra is our friend. And I hear he triumphed over the darkness,” I said to him. “He’s not spineless.”

“Funny, ya know, ‘cause I heard different. Ya see, it was Chickenheart who asked me for a little, shall we say… instruction on how to use darkness in the first place.”

“N-Never!” Stellae exclaimed and took a step towards Hades, causing me to let go of her. She still had one hand on her head. Stellae…

“And he was so close to doing it, too, when the sap went and got cold feet. Now if that ain’t cowardly, I don’t know what is. But you two, my little bluebird and tiny chickadee… Why not flit over here and demonstrate some real courage for the winning team?” Hades continued, as he inched closer to me and Stellae.

“The darkness doesn’t interest us!” I said.

“Well, that was rude. A “No, thank you, your godliness” might’ve sufficed. Fortunately, I still get to— ahem— destroy you. Rules say you face me next. And I have a whole lot of darkness… with both of your names on it!”

With that said, Hades disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Get back here, Hades!” Zack said, trying to run towards him, but he disappeared before he even got to him. “Man, if only I were up against him.”

He then turned towards us and walked over. “Aqua, Stellae.”

Reaching us, he put one hand on Stellae’s right shoulder and another on my left shoulder. “You two gotta avenge me, Terra, and Ezra!”

“We will,” Stellae said, nodding.

Zack then let go of us, before heading over to the stands so that he could sit down and watch the fight.

Stellae and I decided to go to the vestibule to take a short breath of fresh air before the fight. Once there, I turned towards Stellae.

“Stellae… Are you sure you can do this?” I asked, worried.

“Relax,” Stellae said. “It must be because he is involved with the world’s darkness. I can’t let it get to me though.”

I looked down. “Please be careful.”

“Aqua, seriously, you worry too much about me,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her. “I need to carry some sort of weight. That way, you don’t have to carry everything by yourself.”

“The same goes for you, y’know…” I said, placing a hand on one of her arms. “Lean on me whenever you need to. Just like you did a few minutes ago.”

She smiled. “Then let’s lean on each other. Through thick and thin.”

I smiled at her. Please let me bear at least a bit of your burden, Stellae…

After a while, we went into the arena once again, with keyblades in hand. We were looking around, when all of a sudden the Coliseum began to shake, revealing an ice colossus over the wall of it. Hades then appears below the colossus. “I never said one-on-two.”

“No fair, Hades!” Zack said, not too happy about this, since the ice colossus can easily be an equivalent to more than one opponent.

“I suppose that’s in the rules,” I said to Hades.

““Rule No. 2: Combatants may call for backup.” Maybe you two better call yours, bluebird and chickadee.”

“He’s already here!” Zack said, running towards us.

I then held my keyblade out, stopping him. “Don’t, Zack.”

“We can do this on our own,” Stellae said.

With that said, we faced Hades and his ice colossus. I used my magic while Stellae used her close combat. It took a while but we managed to defeat them.

The colossus began to fall and dissolve due to its defeat, just as Hades was turning red from anger.

“I knew that snow cone wouldn’t cut it. I need a real Titan,” Hades said, enraged. “Ha! Stay tuned.”

With that said, he disappeared into a puff of smoke once again.

After the whole commotion with Hades, we all decided to head towards the coliseum gates.

“Stupid Hades… Next time, I’ll put him in his place,” Zack said. “Oh yeah! You two are the champs— we gotta celebrate!”

“That won’t really be necessary,” I said.

“Yeah, we really need to—“ Stellae began to say.

“Hmm…” Zack kept on, focusing his eyes on me. “Hey, how about one date?“

I felt my face flush because of the sudden situation. “Oh! You mean—“

He then rapidly looked towards Stellae in realization. “Wait no scratch that— how about the three of us hang out?”

“No, we have to leave right away, Zack.” Stellae cut in. “We still have a lot of training to do… Hope you understand.”

“Fair enough. And I’m still a work in progress, after all.”

“Huh?” I said, confused.

“Well, how ‘bout this— I become a hero, then we go on a date— I mean hang out.”

Umm… This is a bit too…

“We… we can’t make any promises,” I said, still flustered.

“Yeah, this is way too sudden of a request,” Stellae added.

“Yes! Great, it’s settled. Hero-hood, here I come!” Zack said, before running towards the town.

“Seriously, he doesn’t take the hint that he’s been friendzoned,” Stellae said, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to the side. “And what’s up with him including me after he asked you out? So rude.”

Just then, Herc ran over to us. “Oh… It’s over already? And I finished today’s training in record time.”

He then looked at me. “Uh, Aqua? What’s wrong? Your face is red.”

“Nothing! Nothing,” I said, trying to be subtle.

“It was a long and tiring final Herc, so don’t worry too much,” Stellae said, trying to back me up. Thanks for that, Stellae.

“Anyway, you wanted to be a hero too, right? Strength alone won’t make you into one,” Stellae added on.

“I know, I know. Strength alone won’t make me a true hero. I’m starting to figure that out. I look at you, Aqua, and Zack, and I can tell there’s something more.”

“You’ve got strength in your heart, too,” I said, a bit more composed. “Never stop trying, and one day you might just become a true hero after all.”

I then looked down. “Terra, you too. Keep fighting.”

“Hmm… For some reason I have a feeling that we might run into Terra soon,” Stellae said.

“The stars say something?” I said, looking up towards her.

“Nah, just a feeling that I have. Besides, the stars have been really annoying me with all of their distorted signals. So whenever we leave, that’s when my mind will be more at ease,” Stellae answered.

“I see…” I said to her. “Then let’s keep moving.”

“Right,” Stellae said.

After saying goodbye to Herc, we left the world, hoping to find Terra, wherever he could be.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like Eraqus considers Ezra a friend... but when did they meet? And yay! We finally get to see what's Ezra's POV is like!
> 
> The end is near...


	9. An Alien Criminal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **DISCLAIMER**  
>  This fanfiction has many scenes that happen in the actual Kingdom Hearts Dark Seeker Saga. But the creation of some scenes, personal characters, and added/altered dialogue were created for the purposes of this fictional story. I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor Final Fantasy. The characters, the majority of the plot, and so on, belong to Square Enix and Disney.

**Stellae’s POV**

Aqua and I had made it to some transport inside a spaceship, where apparently Unversed had appeared in. After fighting them for a while, we managed to defeat them. Looking to the side, I spotted a star-shaped object on the floor. It seemed that Aqua had spotted it as well, so she picked it up before I did.

“This looks like the wayfinders…” Aqua said.

“The question is: how did it get here?” I asked.

Just then, a blue creature jumped in front of us and took the wayfinder. We summoned our keyblades, which caused the creature to growl at us.

“Tell us, where did you get that?” Aqua asked.

The creature growled at us again, but then calmed down when he looked at our keyblades. Strange…

“Come out, you little trog!” We heard a voice say, before the creature jumped up and disappeared.

“Wait!” Aqua said.

“You there,” the voice said. The person was like an alien of some kind. “Has Experiment 626 passed through this area?”

“I don’t understand,” Aqua said. “Experiment what?”

“Don’t be dense. Dr. Jumba Jookiba’s genetic abomination— 626! Small? Blue? Vicious?” The alien continued.

“Him? But he didn’t look vicious,” I said. If anything, he actually looked kinda cute.

“Ah. So you both have seen him!” The alien said.

“Yes, he’s in the ventilation system,” Aqua said.

“Blast! He got away again,” the alien said, annoyed.

He was about to leave, with us going in the other direction, but he stopped us. “Hold it right there. Why don’t I know you two? What sections are you both from?”

“Um, We’re…” I started to say.

“You see…” Aqua continued.

“Trying to stow away, are we?” The alien said, before leading us through some hallway a few minutes later.

He looked back at us. “I said, stay close!”

Gee, what do you expect? We might be some prisoners but give us some space will you?

After walking for a few minutes, we arrived at what it seemed to be a control room. An elderly alien woman, who seemed to be of high authority, spoke with us. “What is the meaning of this? Captain Gantu, did I not order you to apprehend the fugitives immediately?”

“Yes— and I will have them in custody soon. They’d be locked up already, if those wretched monsters would just— I mean, if I hadn't uncovered these potential stowaways,” Captain Gantu said.

“We weren’t trying to sneak on board. My name is Aqua,” Aqua said.

“And I’m Stellae,” I continued. “Those monsters— We followed them here. Please, we can handle this threat. Just give us a chance. Let us show you.”

I summoned my keyblade. “The weapon I carry, as well as Aqua, is the only one that can stop them.”

“Our weapons are of no use against them?” The alien woman asked. “Is this true?”

“Well, we haven’t explored all our options—“ Captain Gantu tried to explain, but was cut short.

“Nor do we have time to. We are fortunate you two are here, Aqua and Stellae. Your assistance would be most welcome,” the alien woman said.

“But Grand Councilwoman, you can’t honestly believe what these stowaways say?” Captain Gantu asked, obviously not believing us.

“I think you’ll find I can,” Grand Councilwoman said to Captain Gantu. “We have a crisis. Jumba and 626 remain at large… and these monsters are obstructing attempts to apprehend them. Or did I mishear your latest excuse as to why you’ve again failed to carry out your duties, Captain?”

She then turned to us. “Will you two help us?”

“Of course,” Aqua said. “Defeating them is our job.”

“It’s what we do best, ma’am,” I added.

“Then might I make one other request? Should you happen upon our fugitives…” Grand Councilwoman said, before an image of the fugitives appeared on a screen behind her. It was the little creature from before and some other alien that was a bit larger than him. “Please do whatever you two can to apprehend them intact.”

“You want us to capture Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626?” I asked.

“But you can’t just— That’s my job!” Captain Gantu whined.

“You had your chance, Captain Gantu. Now you will stand down and await orders. We will monitor the location of the monsters and keep you apprised. Thank you for your help, Aqua, Stellae.”

“Of course,” Aqua said.

“No problem,” I said.

We then turned to leave the control room. As we reached some cell block area, I stopped for a moment. “Aqua? Do you think Terra, Ven, and Akari are here, too? That wayfinder that Experiment 626 was carrying… That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

Aqua looked back at me. “I was thinking that, too. If Experiment 626 has a wayfinder, then that little guy must have met one of them.”

“If that’s the case, then maybe Experiment 626 isn’t so dangerous,” I said, walking over to her. “There has to be a connection somewhere.”

“You might be right,” Aqua said.

Just then, we saw Experiment 626 looking around before some Unversed appeared behind him, about to attack.

“Look out!” Aqua told him, jumping over to Experiment 626 and eliminating three flood Unversed in one go with her keyblade. I followed seconds afterwards, keyblade in hand, eliminating two other flood Unversed.

“You must be Experiment 626,” I said.

“We have orders to take you in,” Aqua continued.

“Terra!” Experiment 626 shouted.

“Huh?!” I said, startled.

“I think we three need to talk,” Aqua said, also startled.

More Unversed appeared out of nowhere, surrounding us.

“But first thing’s first,” Aqua said.

“We need to fulfill our duties as Keyblade Masters,” I added.

We then fought the Unversed. It wasn’t until minutes later that we managed to defeat them all, thanks to Experiment 626’s help. He’s quite a good fighter, to be honest. He can’t be vicious like Captain Gantu said. And on another note, are the Unversed getting stronger? For some reason it seems that way…

After the whole fight, we saw Experiment 626 looking around.

“Thanks,” Aqua said. “We owe you. What is it you’re looking for?”

“Ter… ra… Ez… ra…” Experiment 626 said, before jumping onto the wall and climbing away.

“Wait!”Aqua exclaimed.

“We just need to ask you—“ I continued, but he got away too quickly. Seems like Ezra is still tagging along with Terra… 

I sighed. “Guess it’s back to square one again.”

“Right,” Aqua said. “But to be completely honest with you… 626 didn’t really seem vicious. He even helped us out. I think Captain Gantu is exaggerating.”

“Or he has a dense head. Whichever of the two,” I said.

She laughed slightly. “We might get in trouble for badmouthing him. C’mon, let’s continue with our search.”

After going around and searching for 626 and Dr. Jumba, we made it to the hull of the ship, where a bunch of Unversed waited for us. After defeating them in our armors and keyblade gliders, we saw a familiar shape floating around. Aqua grabbed the item. “This must be the wayfinder that 626 was carrying around.”

“He must have dropped it out here,” I said. “We should find him soon and return it to him.”

Aqua nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

We then went back into the ship to return to the control room, since we patrolled the area once and didn’t see 626 or Dr. Jumba after encountering 626 once.

Arriving at the control room once again, Grand Councilwoman had news for us. “Dr. Jumba and Experiment 626 have been sighted. At that time, the two of them were wandering around the launch deck. Would you see that they’re secured?”

“Is Experiment 626… really that dangerous of a creature?” I asked.

“We must assume so,” Grand Councilwoman said.

“All right, then,” I said.

“We’ll head over there now,” Aqua continued.

As we headed over to the launch deck, I couldn’t help but think how they were all judging 626 because he’s an experiment by some doctor… If anything, they should treat him more nicely if they want to see if he’s a monster or not.

When we got to the launch deck, we saw Dr. Jumba and 626 quarreling.

“Is time to give up. Then I will fix abnormality, and ridiculous behaviors stops,” Dr. Jumba said.

Experiment 626 just grumbled loudly back at him angrily.

We then decided to intervene, going over to them.

“Hold it right there!” I said.

“Dr. Jumba, Experiment 626… We’ve been authorized to take you into custody.”

Seconds later, 626 was jumping towards Aqua. “Terra!”

He then reached the floor again with the wayfinder that we found earlier. He rubbed the wayfinder against his cheek happily. Looks like he noticed that Aqua had his wayfinder so he took it.

“So it really does belong to you,” Aqua concluded. “But…”

“Where have you seen that shape?” I continued.

“Is copy he made of good luck charm that boy Terra show to him,” Dr. Jumba said. “Terra said friend gave him charm, was very protective of it.”

“He really said that to you?” Aqua said, her eyes wide.

“Yes,” Dr. Jumba said. “And now, because of Terra and his little bauble… my genius creation is hesitating in his genetically programmed destructive instincts. Just look at him.”

Just then, a laser almost hit 626. What in the—? We all turned to see Captain Gantu with his laser gun.

“What are you doing?” I asked, alarmed.

“Our orders are to capture them alive!” Aqua continued.

“I’ve decided to take a new approach,” Captain Gantu continued. “All right, you two… Any last words before I blast you into a million pieces?”

626 grumbled something to Captain Gantu, who was left with an offended expression on his face. “I am just big-boned!”

The blue creature then began to run.

“Freeze!” Captain Gantu shouted. Just when he was about to corner 626, we ran to stop the captain.

“Stop it!” Aqua shouted.

“Are you serious going through with this?!” I asked.

“I warned you two. Stay out of it!” The captain said.

“I guess we have to do this the hard way,” Aqua said, keyblade in hand.

“Remember, captain, you asked for this,” I said, summoning my keyblade and taking a stance.

He wasn’t that hard to beat. A bit slow in my opinion. He wouldn't give in that easily afterwards though.

“I’m not done with you two yet,” Captain Gantu said.

“Enough! I observed everything on the monitor,” Grand Councilwoman had said, walking over to where the commotion was happening.

“I… I can explain…” The captain tried to say, but it was no use.

“You’ve both been of great service, Aqua and Stellae. Thank you,” Grand Councilwoman said to us.

I looked over at 626. Honestly, he should really be reconsidered. His behavior is far beyond that of a criminal.

“Captain Gantu. Escort 626 to the asteroid to which he’s been banished. When you return, you’re back on patrol,” Grand Councilwoman continued on.

“Not patrol!” Captain Gantu whined.

The Councilwoman then began to walk away with Dr. Jumba and 626.

“Please, Your Highness,” Aqua started saying. “Would you consider sparing Experiment 626?”

Took the words right out of my mouth and I’m so glad that she did.

“Spare him? He’s an extremely dangerous creature. I cannot release such a menace,” she told us.

“But it seems to us he’s at least trying to make friends. And dangerous or not… We really believe he can succeed,” I said.

“Very well, Aqua, Stellae. If he behaves himself, I will consider shortening his exile.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Aqua said.

“Yes, thank you,” I added on.

Aqua and I then walked over to where 626 was. She then crouched down and touched the wayfinder he was holding.

“I like the charm you made,” Aqua said.

“It’s really crafty and unique,” I added, crouching down as well. I also noticed Aqua looking at me with a smile when I said this.

She then looked back at 626. “Do you think maybe… our circle of friends could become part of yours? My name is Aqua.”

“And my name is Stellae,” I said. “Our friends are Terra, Ventus, Akari, and Kira.”

“Ah -koo, wah, Ste-lla, e, fren… Terra… Ven… Ah-ka, ri… Kira,” 626 said to us.

I nodded at him, along with Aqua. After this, Grand Councilwoman took Dr. Jumba and 626 away. I really hope he gets released soon…

* * *

**Akari’s POV**

Ven and I were following a giant Unversed that went into a spaceship. Seriously, why did it decide to do this?! The Unversed could be anywhere inside this ship!

We were walking in some sort of transport room, when all of a sudden, a whale-like person pointed some sort of gun at us. “So you two are the intruders. Identify yourselves.”

“My name is Ventus,” Ven said.

“And mine is Akari,” I added. “The monster we were chasing boarded your ship, so we’re tracking it down.”

“Nice try,” the person said, not believing a word. “If there was even another intruder aboard, we’d have detected it. Don’t know why it only detected one in the first place but—“

The ship then shook, causing the alarm to go off.

“Intruder in the machinery bay! We lost control of the engines! I-It’s some kind of monster!” The intercom said in panic.

“Now you tell me!” The person said, turning to leave. “Stay right there! I have lots of unpleasant questions to ask you two.”

He then left.

“This is our fault,” Ven said, worried. “We need to do something.”

I nodded. “Yeah, otherwise the ship’s in danger.”

We were about to leave the room, but a random little blue creature dropped from the ceiling to land, only to land in front of us. “Ven…? Ah-ka, ri…? Terra… Kira… Ah-koo, wa… Ste-lla, e…”

“What? You know Terra and Aqua?” Ven asked.

“Even Stellae and Kira, too?” I also asked.

“Fren… Circle!” The creature said, pulling out a star-shaped object. Is that a—?

“Hey… is that a wayfinder?” Ven asked, beating me to it.

The ship then shook again, which caused the little creature to look around.

“The engines are under too much stress. We’re risking an explosion!” The intercom said. There was even more panic in the person’s voice.

“Ven, there’s no time!” I said, worried. “The ship’s going to explode if we stay here!”

“Right! Let’s move!”

We ran towards the door, which led to another part of the ship. The creature was following behind us, but Ven stopped in his tracks, making me stop as well.

Ven then turned towards the creature. “No! You need to stay here. It’s too dangerous.”

He then turned to me. “Let’s go, Akari.”

I nodded.

When we started running again, I could have sworn that I kept hearing the little creature from before behind us again.

After running around the spaceship, we managed to reach the engine room. The Unversed was circling the power core.

“End of the line!” Ven said.

“Not getting away now!” I said.

We summoned our keyblades, ready to fight, but suddenly the same creature from before had blasted through the ceiling, landing next to us in the process.

“Hey! You shouldn’t be here,” Ven said.

“It’s not safe,” I added.

The creature sounded agitated for some reason as it tried to communicate with us.

“Huh?” I asked, confused as to why the little guy was acting like that.

“What is it?” Ven asked.

The creature continued to talk for a bit more, before we confronted the Unversed. We had told the little creature to stay out of this fight, but to our surprise, he was a good ally! He helped us fight, which in the end helped us finish off the Unversed.

After fighting, the creature still seemed upset.

“It’s over! Cut it out!” Ven said, trying to calm the creature by holding its shoulders down, only to get knocked flat on his back “Whoa!”

“Ven!” I said, going to him in a hurry and crouching down to where he was. “Take it easy, okay? Maybe something happened,” I said, hoping that would be the case.

He sighed a bit. “Yeah.”

Ven then looked at the monster. “What’s gotten into you?”

The creature then turned towards us, holding a broken wayfinder.

“I see… Your wayfinder broke,” Ven said. “Well, don't worry. Friendship’s more than an object.”

“Fren-ship… Cir… cle?” The creature asked.

We both nodded. I could feel a smile on my face when I did this. Probably Ven did, too. We’ll always be connected by our friendship circle… I’m sure of it.

“Hmph, don’t let the little mimic fool you. You saw for yourself what kind of monster that thing is. All it knows how to do is hurt and destroy,” the person from earlier said as he approached us.

“Monster?” I asked, not believing his words one bit.

“He helped us stop the monster!” Ven added.

“You must have triggered some sort of mutation… hidden in the little freak’s genetic coding,” the person continued on.

“Ven. Ah-ka, ri. Frens!”

“That’s right. We are friends!” Ven said.

“And that won’t change!” I said.

“Better say your good-byes now, because 626 is about to be destroyed!” The person said.

No!

We were about to jump in for another fight, but 626 jumped onto the person’s face.

“Stop that!” The person said, overly annoyed.

After 626 managed to pull the person down, he began to mumble.

“C’mon,” Ven said to it.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said to it as well.

The three of us then began to run away.

“Sound the alert! Prisoners on the loose! Don’t let them get away!” I could hear the person say in the distance.

We managed to escape after finding a spaceship for 626 to escape on. As Ven and I flew on our keyblade gliders and armor, and 626 on the spaceship, we were able to escape from the main ship’s sight.

“Yee-ha!” 626 said with glee.

Just then, lasers were coming towards us, which were apparently fired by some blue police cruisers that were chasing us. 626 just laughed and honked the ship’s horn.

“Where are we going?” Ven asked.

626 pulled a knob up, but then seemed to regret pulling it as he pushed it back down. What type of warning is the ship giving—?

“Break formation! Get clear!” One of the policemen said, moments before the police cruisers pulled away.

626 was waving his arms and pounding on the ship’s window in a panic. Is he trying to warn us about something?

“What is it?” I asked, worriedly.

“What’s going on?” Ven added, also worried.

626 then kept on mumbling, trying to find a way to warn us better. C’mon little guy, what’s—?

I then felt an impact. Wait, what just—!?

I screamed out of shock, closing my eyes in fear of what was happening. But I needed to open them. I need to understand what’s happening!

Everything was strange at first. It took me a few seconds to process everything. Ven shouting in shock, 626 calling out to us in his ship— The ship!

“Akari!” I heard Ven shout, as he got farther and farther away from me.

Why is he going farther and farther away? Wouldn’t he do the opposite? Unless—!

I gasped. “Ven!”

The whole scenario clicked in my head: the spaceship’s speed impact blew me and Ven into opposite directions, not knowing when the impact would stop affecting us.

In the end, Ven was out of my sight.

End of Part 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so this part comes to a close...
> 
> With respect to Part 3: This will be the conclusion to the Birth By Sleep Arc, which will involve x2 the amount of drama... Fun!
> 
> And I will say this now: Part 4 is more likely to jump into SOME canon scenes from the next games, with the obvious diversion of canon. Therefore, it won't be so heavy as these last three parts. (For example, I know I'm NOT gonna write up three parts for KH3... One part is my minimum but I'll add two if a lot more writing is necessary since... that's technically the game where the Birth by Sleep peeps receive some closure\\(^o^)/)
> 
> The reason why I'm including the majority of the scenes from Birth by Sleep is because I want to give full context of the OCs that are present during that time period and establish their relationships with everyone before moving forward.
> 
> So for now... Stay tuned for Part 3! :D


End file.
